I found this article fascinating. Just when you think you know everything, new research emerges. New advances in Chiropractic research help us to better understand how a simple adjustment can so profoundly effect a persons health.
New Nerve System Transmission Found. New Subluxation Mechanism?
A new system of nerve transmission was discovered recently that could have a profound impact on chiropractic, and offer another mechanism for subluxation. The research was published in the October 5, 2010 issue of the American Association for the Advancement of Science journal, "Science Signaling".
Previous to this research most scientists thought that nerve cells only sent messages across a junction known as a synapse. This new research shows that nerve cells are communicating with other cells by twitching, without using a synapse. Chief researcher, Doug Fields from the National Institutes of Health asked the question, "How could you have signaling from neurons to cells that are not neurons when our understanding of how signaling works is all based on synapses? That's the mystery."
Fields' research was able to show that the nerves twitched when stimulated and this twitching opens a channel in the cell membrane and a chemical called ATP escapes. When released, ATP acts as a neurotransmitter and therefore allows nerves to communicate without having to go through a synapse.
The implications for chiropractic could be profound. This potentially demonstrates another mechanism of nerve transmission that could be interfered with and thus be another model of subluxation. It could be theorized that nerve irritation may alter the twitching of the nerve, therefore altering the ATP release and interfering with this newly discovered nerve transmission process. The research also mentions that the spinal cord itself also twitches when stimulated, so the possibilities for subluxation models are profound.
In spite of the impact this research could have for chiropractic, only one news article covered this research. This single article appeared in print and on the radio on October 5, 2010 from National Public Radio. The article tried to say that the health impacts of this research might affect epilepsy and pain. The NPR article has embedded video showing both the twitching of nerves and the evidence of the release of ATP.
The abstract of this research can be seen here: http://stke.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/sigtrans;3/142/ra73
The NPR article on this research can be seen here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?
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