Multi-session transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation for Parkinson's disease: evaluating feasibility, safety, and preliminary efficacy

Frontiers in Neurology

Neurology

Colin McLeod¹  Vanessa K. Hinson²  Travis H. Turner²  Daniel H. Lench²  Lisa Heidelberg²  Lilia Lovera²  Heather A. Boger³  Bashar W. Badran⁴  Anh Phan⁵  Jordan Elm⁵ 

[1] Department of Neurology, Augusta University Medical Center, Augusta, GA, United States;Department of Neurology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States;Department of Neurosciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States;Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States;Department of Public Health Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States;

关键词: transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation;    Parkinson's disease;    vagus nerve;    taVNS;    non-invasive brain stimulation;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fneur.2023.1210103

 received in 2023-04-21, accepted in 2023-07-03,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundIn pre-clinical animal models of Parkinson's disease (PD), vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) can rescue motor deficits and protect susceptible neuronal populations. Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) has emerged as a non-invasive alternative to traditional invasive cervical VNS. This is the first report summarizing the safety, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy of repeated sessions of taVNS in participants with PD.ObjectivesTo evaluate the feasibility, safety, and possible efficacy of taVNS for motor and non-motor symptoms in mild to moderate PD.MethodsThis is a double-blind, sham controlled RCT (NCT04157621) of taVNS in 30 subjects with mild to moderate PD without cognitive impairment. Participants received 10, 1-h taVNS sessions (25 Hz, 200% of sensory threshold, 500 μs pulse width, 60 s on and 30 s off) over a 2-week period. Primary outcome measures were feasibility and safety of the intervention; secondary outcomes included the MDS-UPDRS, cognitive function and self-reported symptom improvement.ResultstaVNS treatment was feasible, however, daily in-office visits were reported as being burdensome for participants. While five participants in the taVNS group and three in the sham group self-reported one or more minor adverse events, no major adverse events occurred. There were no group differences on blood pressure and heart rate throughout the intervention. There were no group differences in MDS-UPDRS scores or self-reported measures. Although global cognitive scores remained stable across groups, there was a reduction in verbal fluency within the taVNS group.ConclusionstaVNS was safe, and well-tolerated in PD participants. Future studies of taVNS for PD should explore at-home stimulation devices and optimize stimulation parameters to reduce variability and maximize engagement of neural targets.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Lench, Turner, McLeod, Boger, Lovera, Heidelberg, Elm, Phan, Badran and Hinson.