Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37554394›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in neurology2023

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

Daniel H Lench, Travis H Turner, Colin McLeod, Heather A Boger, Lilia Lovera, Lisa Heidelberg, Jordan Elm, Anh Phan, Bashar W Badran, Vanessa K Hinson

2 registry-linked trialsAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in neurology, 2023. 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 22 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
22citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

NCT04157621 nacompletednot on this map

Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation (taVNS) in Mild to Moderate Parkinson's Disease

TypeinterventionalSponsorMedical University of South CarolinaRan2018 to 2021Enrolled33ConditionsParkinson DiseaseArmsActive taVNS, Sham Stimulation
NCT07660744 nanot yet recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Influence of Manual and Electrical Vagal Stimulation on Autonomic Activity (Heart Rate Variability) and Other Dysautonomous Symptoms Such as Fatigue and Sleep Disturbances, in a Healthy Population.

TypeinterventionalSponsorEscoles Universitaries GimbernatRan2026 to 2026Enrolled16ConditionsHealthyArmsElectrical stimulation of the vagus nerve, Manual stimulation of vagus nerve
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

22 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Movement Disorders, from Principles to a Systematic Review of Evidence.Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society · 2025
    Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
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  9. Left Vagus Stimulation Modulates Contralateral Subthalamic β Power Improving the Gait in Parkinson's Disease.Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society · 2024
    Trial
  10. Article
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  14. Article
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  20. Unraveling the threads of stability: A review of the neurophysiology of postural control in Parkinson's disease.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2024
    Review
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

10 authors.

Daniel H LenchDepartment of Neurology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States.
Travis H TurnerDepartment of Neurology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States.
Colin McLeodDepartment of Neurology, Augusta University Medical Center, Augusta, GA, United States.
Heather A BogerDepartment of Neurosciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States.
Lilia LoveraDepartment of Neurology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States.
Lisa HeidelbergDepartment of Neurology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States.
Jordan ElmDepartment of Public Health Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States.
Anh PhanDepartment of Public Health Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States.
Bashar W BadranDepartment of Psychiatry, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States.
Vanessa K HinsonDepartment of Neurology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: In 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. Objectives: To evaluate the feasibility, safety, and possible efficacy of taVNS for motor and non-motor symptoms in mild to moderate PD. Methods: This 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. Results: taVNS 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. Conclusions: taVNS 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.

Indexed as

non-invasive brain stimulationParkinson's diseasetaVNStranscutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulationvagus nerve

Identifiers

PMID37554394
PMCPMC10406445

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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.