Simple observations in an age of complex discoveries.
Archimedes watched his bathwater spill over the side of the tub, and discovered displacement as a means of measuring volume. Sir Isaac Newton watched an apple fall from a tree and postulated gravity. Dr. Semmelweiss decided to wash his hands prior to operation, and watched the mortality from gynecologic infection plummet. All simple observations applied to solve complex problems.
Several years ago a South Florida pulmonologist by the name of Marvin Sachner and his colleague, a neonatologist by the name of Jose Antonio Adams made a simple observation. Infants in the neonatal intensive care unit who had respiratory monitors who were rocked to sleep seemed to increase their tidal volume (the amount of air one takes with each breath). After rechecking their observation to be certain that this was not an artifact of the monitoring system, they began to study the impact of acceleration on respiratory mechanics. Interestingly, and perhaps not surprisingly, NASA had quite a bit of information on the impact of acceleration on human physiology, and it seemed quite probable from that data that their observations in the ICU were in fact due to the gentle periodic acceleration of the rocking motion used to comfort the infants.
These doctors/scientists then embarked on an investigation of the impact of periodic acceleration on physiology. Using an animal model, they were able to determine that the salutary effects on pulmonary mechanics were so compelling, that they were able to successfully ventilate animals who had suffered a lung injury which would otherwise prove fatal. In the course of these experiments, they discovered some apparent unpredicted benefits for the cardiovascular system. At that point they enlisted the expertise of the Florida Heart Research Institutethe origins of a current and significant collaborative scientific effort.
Working together, using a cardiac arrest/resuscitation model in pigs, we have subsequently demonstrated that periodic accelerationrocking back and forthreleases nitric oxide and prostaglandinsboth of which are major signally molecules in the body, and therefore has major benefits for the cardiovascular system, perhaps mediating major organ preservation and resistance to ischemic/reperfusion injury. In addition to these acute benefits, there appears to be major long-term benefits in modulating the inflammatory response to injury, thereby potentially influencing the course of atherosclerotic heart disease, asthma and a host of autoimmune phenomena (such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, vasculitis, etc.)
While pursuing the basic science research in the laboratory, future clinical investigations will be directed toward the treatment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (the leading killer of men and women in this country), as well as possible pretreatment for coronary interventions and surgery, and post-treatments for sudden death and heart attack. The potential benefits for those who suffer from asthma and other pulmonary diseases, and a host of auto-immune diseases, have barely begun to be explored.
And all of this from the knowledge which every mother knows so well, that to calm your infant, you rock him/her back and forth
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