Figure 4

NCAP decreases joint swelling and histological indices of joint damage in CIA. Rats implanted with vagus nerve cuff electrodes had CIA induced or were injected with saline (Control) and were followed for 15 d. Animals underwent active (NCAP) or sham electrical stimulation (Sham NCAP) once daily from study d 9. Ankle diameter over time is shown as mean + SE (A). *p ≤ 0.05 for ANOVA versus CIA/Sham NCAP Ankle joints were harvested on study d 16 and scored on a scale of 0–5 for inflammation, pannus formation, cartilage damage and bone resorption (B). Data are shown as mean + SE score. *p ≤ 0.05 for t test versus CIA/Sham NCAP Image adapted from figures in (32) (Neurostimulation of the Cholinergic Anti-Inflammatory Pathway Ameliorates Disease in Rat Collagen-Induced Arthritis. Yaakov A Levine, Frieda A Koopman, Michael Faltys, April Caravaca, Alison Bendele, Ralph Zitnik, Margriet J Vervoordeldonk, Paul Peter Tak. PLOS ONE. 2014;9:e104530. Permission not required for adaptation. Available from: https://doi.org/www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0104530).