# Cranial Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine Enhances Brain Fluid Flow Alleviating Neuroinflammation

> **NIH NIH R01** · VIRGINIA COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE · 2024 · $444,816

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) has been used clinically to improve the quality of life for several 
medical conditions and injuries; however, limited data is available on the brain’s response to this innovative 
treatment. Cranial OMM (cOMM) involves the gentle application of manual force to the head and the axial spine, 
subsequently affecting the patient by releasing soft tissue restrictions. This technique enhances motion of the 
tissues and fluid flow through the brain through natural channels and helps to regulate tissue fluid flows in the 
body as well as balancing the autonomic nervous system. We expect that cOMM will help to clear inflammatory 
molecules from the brain in clinical challenges such as traumatic brain injury (TBI). To elucidate the mechanistic 
effects of this integrative health approach utilizing cOMM, studies will focus on the cholinergic system. Multiple 
studies and preliminary data consistently demonstrate that significant dysregulation in cholinergic 
neurotransmission mechanisms occurs in injured rodent brains, which is intricately linked to neurological 
phenotypes such as cognitive impairment and other neurologic dysfunctions. This underscores the profound 
importance of exploring the therapeutic potential of cOMM in mitigating these adverse effects. There is a critical 
need to ascertain the interactions of physiological (e.g., neural, musculoskeletal, immune) and psychological 
systems in response to force-based interventions such as cOMM. Using TBI as a platform, the broad, long-term 
objective of this study is to evaluate the neuro-biological effect of cOMM as a non-invasive approach to alleviate 
symptoms and enhance neural tissue recovery. Using a preclinical model, we will investigate if cOMM can 
mitigate behavioral patterns seen following repetitive closed head brain injury. We will use biomedical MR 
imaging and molecular biology techniques to measure brain fluid flow and track inflammation with and without 
cOMM treatment. Our study will include both males and females because it has been shown that neurological 
symptoms, severity of injury and hence possibly changes in fluid flow in the brain are different between sexes, 
which will allow refinement of cOMM treatment depending on sex. Collectively, we will be the first to provide 
evidence for the clinically observed effects following cOMM when used as an intervention for TBI and resulting 
acute and chronic symptoms.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10945280
- **Project number:** 1R01AT012910-01
- **Recipient organization:** VIRGINIA COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Per Gunnar Brolinson
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $444,816
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-17 → 2029-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10945280

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10945280, Cranial Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine Enhances Brain Fluid Flow Alleviating Neuroinflammation (1R01AT012910-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10945280. Licensed CC0.

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