Christina Brock is Denmark's new and the first professor in the autonomic nervous system
Christina Brock is a new professor in the autonomic nervous system at Aalborg University Hospital and at Aalborg University’s Department of Clinical Medicine. According to a press release from the Region of North Jutland, she is the country's first professor of the autonomic nervous system, which covers the part of the nervous system that controls internal organs, blood vessels, blood pressure, heart and body temperature.
Christina Brock explains that the autonomic nervous system has been a mystery to many clinicians. According to her, there has been no good diagnostic or treatment options for patients with injuries in this part of the nervous system.
Despite the lack of quality help for people with injuries to the autonomic nervous system, Christina remains optimistic: “With new methods and optimized software solutions, we have better opportunities to screen and diagnose the injuries and then choose which patients should have their autonomous functions examined more closely”.
New and better solutions for faster and more reliable diagnostics will be of key importance for people who sustained injuries to the autonomic nervous system, as it may very well save their lives.
“However, if injuries occur - for example, as a result of diabetes or chemotherapy - we must not underestimate the seriousness. For example, when it does not function optimally, it may be the cause of heart arrhythmias and an increased risk of sudden death,” says Christina Brock.
Christina explains that with the new knowledge at hand, it will one day be possible to detect nerve damage earlier in the process. It opens up opportunities for better prevention and maybe even treatment:
“We have data that supports recent research that shows an association between the level of inflammation in the body and the damage done to the autonomic nervous system. It gives us hope that one day, with the help of an anti-inflammatory intervention, we can offer targeted treatment for nerve damage,” says Christina Brock.
About Christina Brock
Christina Brock is a member of the DDA's National Advisory Forum and she is currently working on an application for the Horizon 2020 grants together with the DDA.