Over a decade ago, an inquisitive pulmonologist and a tenacious neonatologist joined forces to try to understand a simple phenomenon observed in the neonatal ICU: babies with respiratory monitors recorded improved lung function when the nurses would rock them to sleep. After filtering out artifact from the tracings, they noted an increase in tidal volume. Perhaps the gentle back and forth rocking motion could be understood in scientific terms, they reasoned, and thus they explored the known medical literature regarding the impact of acceleration on human physiology. In fact, they discovered that NASA had done extensive work in this area, as acceleration is a necessary component of space launches. Armed with some novel hypotheses, they went to the research laboratory to study the impact of periodic acceleration (pGz; back and forth motion in the head-to-toe direction) on respiratory mechanics. Working with a model of severe lung injury (meconium aspiration), they discovered that they could not only use pGz to ventilate these animals, but the accompanying pulmonary artery hypertension was also mitigated.

This somewhat unexpected finding spawned a research collaboration with the Florida Heart Research Institute to study to cardiovascular impact of pGz. The results have been dramatic and somewhat amazing in scope. Similar to exercise, pGz creates pulsatile sheer stress on the special population of cells, endothelial cells, that line blood vessels. This stimulus causes the release of a key mediator of vascular health, NO, nitric oxide, a substance that most people are more familiar with as the end-product of nitroglycerin tablets that people take to relieve chest pains. As the research has progressed through many surprising and exciting developments, we have discovered that, in addition to nitric oxide, this process releases a host of favorable mediators, as well as upregulating their genetic production—mediators that help to control inflammation, protect tissues from injury from lack of oxygen or blood flow, and mediators that inhibit cellular self-destruction (a process called apoptosis). There also seem to be factors released that help to improve cellular sensitivity to insulin (thus making them less susceptible to type II diabetes, an emerging epidemic in our society).
 
While the basic science research is being actively pursued in order to better understand the complex molecular pathways and signaling sequences involved, there are already experiments emerging with wide-ranging implications for the treatment of stroke, heart attack and chronic coronary artery disease, as well as for potential applications in heart surgery and trauma. Parallel to these efforts are studies on the impact of pGz on autoimmune and degenerative diseases (diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis). All of this, from the rigorous application of scientific research to help to better understand a clinical phenomenon astutely observed at the patient’s bedside—old fashioned medicine in the modern era.