Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of recent research on the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis carried out by Professor Paul-Peter Tak of the Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam.

The Department is aware of the research undertaken by Professor Paul-Peter Tak examining vagus nerve stimulation to reduce symptoms in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The early findings of a small study involving 20 patients with RA have been promising, but further research will be needed in order to properly understand the effectiveness of this intervention.