Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23117749›Full record

Trial reportJournal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996)2013

Auricular transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in depressed patients: a randomized controlled pilot study.

Ernst Hein, Magdalena Nowak, Olga Kiess, Teresa Biermann, Kristina Bayerlein, Johannes Kornhuber, Thomas Kraus

2 registry-linked trialsAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996), 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 128 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
128citing papers in PubMed, 9 pooled it
3.4field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT05296915 naunknown statusnot on this mapstarted 2022, after this paper: background citation

Bulimia Nervosa e Binge Eating Disorder: Strategie Terapeutiche a Confronto

TypeinterventionalSponsorFondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda, Ospedale Maggiore PoliclinicoRan2022 to 2024Enrolled30ConditionsBulimia Nervosa, Binge-Eating DisorderArmstVNS, rTMS, CBT-E
NCT05408689 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2022, after this paper: background citation

A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation to Improve the Cognitive Functions in Older Adults

TypeinterventionalSponsorThe Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityRan2022 to 2023Enrolled90ConditionsMild Cognitive ImpairmentArmsT1 TENS, Concha TENS, Control
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

128 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 275 citations in OpenAlex.

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  9. Vagus nerve stimulation in psychiatry: a systematic review of the available evidence.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2017
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68 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Ernst HeinFrankenalb-Klinik Engelthal, Clinic for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, Psychosomatic Medicine, and Addiction Rehabilitation, Reschenbergstraße 20, 91238 Engelthal, Germany. ernst.hein@yahoo.de
Magdalena Nowak
Olga Kiess
Teresa Biermann
Kristina Bayerlein
Johannes Kornhuber
Thomas Kraus
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg · DEKlinik für Psychosomatik · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Invasive vagus nerve stimulation has been demonstrated to be an effective treatment in major depressive episodes. Recently, a novel non-invasive method of stimulating the vagus nerve on the outer canal of the ear has been proposed. In healthy subjects, a prominent fMRI BOLD signal deactivation in the limbic system was found. The present pilot study investigates the effects of this novel technique of auricular transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation in depressed patients for the first time. A total of 37 patients suffering from major depression were included in two randomized sham controlled add-on studies. Patients were stimulated five times a week on a daily basis for the duration of 2 weeks. On days 0 and 14, the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were assessed. In contrast to sham-treated patients, electrically stimulated persons showed a significantly better outcome in the BDI. Mean decrease in the active treatment group was 12.6 (SD 6.0) points compared to 4.4 (SD 9.9) points in the sham group. HAMD score did not change significantly in the two groups. An antidepressant effect of a new transcutaneous auricular nerve stimulation technique has been shown for the first time in this controlled pilot study. Regarding the limitations of psychometric testing, the risk of unblinding for technical reasons, and the small sample size, further studies are necessary to confirm the present results and verify the practicability of tVNS in clinical fields.

Indexed as

AdultAgedAntidepressive AgentsBrainDepressionFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPilot ProjectsPsychiatric Status Rating ScalesStatistics, NonparametricTranscutaneous Electric Nerve StimulationVagus NerveAntidepressive Agents

Identifiers

PMID23117749
OpenAlexW2024665687

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.