ArticleMediators of inflammation2021
Vagal Nerve Stimulation-Modulation of the Anti-Inflammatory Response and Clinical Outcome in Psoriatic Arthritis or Ankylosing Spondylitis.
Article in Mediators of inflammation, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07653009 (The Effect of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Disease Activity and Related Clinical Parameters in Patients With Psoriatic Arthritis), which is not on this map. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
The Effect of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Disease Activity and Related Clinical Parameters in Patients With Psoriatic Arthritis
Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- Autonomic dysfunction and cardiovascular risk in psoriatic arthritis.Clinical rheumatology · 2023Pooled it
- Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation as a pain modulator in knee osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled clinical trial.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2025Trial
- Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation has no anti-inflammatory effect in diabetes.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Exploring the role of neuro-immune modulation for psoriasis management: a narrative review of existing evidence and future therapies.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2026Review
- Vagus nerve stimulation in rheumatic diseases: linking autonomic nervous system regulation, inflammation, and clinical outcomes.Rheumatology international · 2026Review
- A Review of Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Disease: Comprehensive Theory and Evidence for Mechanisms of Action.Comprehensive physiology · 2026Review
- Cardioprotection via vagus nerve stimulation preconditioning: Reducing ischaemia-reperfusion injury and arrhythmic risk.Experimental physiology · 2026Article
- Interpretable machine learning unveils non-linear inflammatory thresholds and synergistic interactions in post-burn hypertrophic scarring: development of an intelligent clinical decision support system.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Without getting under your skin: non-invasive stimulation activates the vagus nerve.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation in breast cancer: a neuroimmune model to improve quality of life.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- Qingre Liangxue Acupuncture for Psoriasis: A Cholinergic Neuroimmune Framework.International journal of general medicine · 2026Review
- The brain-gut-joint axis in arthritis: crosstalk, treatment, and future perspectives.Journal of orthopaedic translation · 2026Review
- Neuroimmune Crosstalk in Psoriasis: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications.Inflammation · 2025Review
- Neuroimmune Control of Inflammation in Acute Kidney Injury and Multiorgan Dysfunction.Journal of the American Society of Nephrology : JASN · 2025Review
- Article
- Impaired Vagal Tone Function-Based Regulation of Systemic Inflammation in Patients With Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2025Article
- Autonomic Nervous System in Bone Remodeling: From Mechanisms to Novel Therapies in Orthopedic Diseases.Orthopaedic surgery · 2025Review
- Vagus nerve stimulation as a therapeutic option in inflammatory rheumatic diseases.Rheumatology international · 2024Review
- Modulating Heart Rate Variability through Deep Breathing Exercises and Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation: A Study in Healthy Participants and in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis or Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe vagal nerve exerts an essential pathway in controlling the cholinergic anti-inflammatory reflex. Thus, the study is aimed at investigating the acute effect of a noninvasive transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation on clinical disease activity and systemic levels of inflammation in patients with psoriatic arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis.
methodsTwenty patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and 20 patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) were included and stimulated bilaterally with a handheld vagal nerve stimulator for 120 seconds 3 times a day for 5 consecutive days. All patients were in remission. Cardiac vagal tone, clinical scores, CRP, and cytokine levels were assessed.
resultsIn PsA and AS, decreased heart rate was observed, confirming compliance. Furthermore, in PsA, a clear reduction of clinical disease activity associated with a 20% reduction in CRP was shown. In AS, a reduction in interferon-
conclusionThis open-label study provides support for an anti-inflammatory effect of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation in patients with psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. The modulated immune response and reduced disease activity and CRP-levels raise the fascinating possibility of using neuromodulation as an add-on to existing pharmacological treatments.
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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.