ArticleNeuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society2018
Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation to Improve Female Sexual Dysfunction Symptoms: A Pilot Study.
Article in Neuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society, 2018. 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 16 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
A Randomized Controlled Trial Investigating the Efficacy of Percutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation (PTNS) in the Treatment of Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD)
Effect of Peripheral Neuromodulation on Vaginal Blood Flow
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of Transcutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation in Multiparous Egyptian Women with Vaginal Laxity: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Archives of sexual behavior · 2025Trial
- Comparative study on the Impact of Transcranial Magnetic stimulation and Bio-feedback on overactive bladder in multiple sclerosis patients: a Randomized Clinical Trial.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025Trial
- Short-Term Dorsal Genital Nerve Stimulation Increases Subjective Arousal in Women With and Without Spinal Cord Injury: A Preliminary Investigation.Neuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society · 2024Trial
- An update comprehensive review on the effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for postnatal physical and psychological disorders.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Review
- Review
- Neuromodulation for the treatment of sexual dysfunction: an opportunity for the field.Current opinion in biomedical engineering · 2024Article
- Percutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation's Impact on Sexual Function in Female Patients with Neurogenic Detrusor Overactivity, Sexual Dysfunction, and Multiple Sclerosis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- A Prospective Observational Study of Posterior Tibial Nerve Stimulation in Multiple Sclerosis.International urogynecology journal · 2024Observational
- Low frequency neuromuscular electrical stimulation applied to the bulbospongiosus muscle prolongs the ejaculation latency in a rat model.International journal of impotence research · 2024Article
- Immediate and Long-Term Effects of Tibial Nerve Stimulation on the Sexual Behavior of Female Rats.Neuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society · 2024Article
- Acute dorsal genital nerve stimulation increases subjective arousal in women with and without spinal cord injury: a preliminary investigation.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2023Article
- Pudendal, but not tibial, nerve stimulation modulates vulvar blood perfusion in anesthetized rodents.International urogynecology journal · 2023Article
- Tibial nerve stimulation increases vaginal blood perfusion and bone mineral density and yield load in ovariectomized rat menopause model.International urogynecology journal · 2022Article
- The rodent vaginal microbiome across the estrous cycle and the effect of genital nerve electrical stimulation.PloS one · 2020Article
- What Is New in Neuromodulation?Current urology reports · 2019Review
- Application of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for restoring sexual function after gender-affirming genital reconstruction: a hypothesis.Therapeutic advances in urologyReview
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesTo perform a pilot study using transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on the dorsal genital nerve and the posterior tibial nerve for improving symptoms of female sexual dysfunction (FSD) in women without bladder problems. We hypothesize that this therapy will be effective at improving genital arousal deficits. MATERIALS AND
methodsNine women with general FSD completed the study. Subjects received 12 sessions of transcutaneous dorsal genital nerve stimulation (DGNS; n = 6) or posterior tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS; n = 3). Stimulation was delivered for 30 min at 20 Hz. Sexual functioning was evaluated with the female sexual functioning index (FSFI), and surveys were also given on general health, urological functioning, and the Patients' Global Impression of Change (PGIC) after treatment. Surveys were given before treatment (baseline), after 6 and 12 weeks of treatment, and 6 weeks after the completion of stimulation sessions.
resultsThe average total FSFI score across all subjects significantly increased from 15.3 ± 4.8 at baseline to 20.3 ± 7.8 after six sessions, 21.7 ± 7.5 after 12 sessions, and 21.3 ± 7.1 at study completion (p < 0.05 for all time points). Increases were observed in both DGNS and PTNS subjects. Significant FSFI increases were seen in the subdomains of lubrication, arousal, and orgasm, each of which is related to genital arousal. Bladder and general health surveys did not change across the study. PGIC had a significant increase.
conclusionsThis study provides evidence that transcutaneous stimulation of peripheral nerves has the potential to be a valuable therapeutic tool for women with FSD.
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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.