Trial reportNeuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society2026
Transcutaneous Auricular Neurostimulation Modulates Pain Perception in Survivors of Stroke With Chronic Upper-Extremity Pain: A Randomized, Sham-Controlled Pilot Study.
Trial report in Neuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06456385 (Investigate the Anti-pain Effect of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.
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.
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.
Investigate the Anti-pain Effect of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation (taVNS) in Patients With Chronic Post-stroke Upper Extremity Pain
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Neuromodulation approaches and applications in the management of post-stroke pain: a comprehensive review.Frontiers in neurologyReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundChronic pain is a common and debilitating consequence of stroke. Although pharmacologic interventions are typically the first-line treatment, they often have limited efficacy and carry risks such as side effects and dependence. Evidence for neuromodulation therapies is positive but limited owing to high cost and invasiveness. Therefore, developing noninvasive, affordable neuromodulation approaches for treating poststroke pain could offer significant clinical benefits. Transcutaneous auricular neurostimulation (tAN), an affordable and wearable neuromodulation technique, has shown promise for analgesia, but research specific to poststroke pain remains limited.
objectivesThis pilot study aims to explore the safety/feasibility, in addition to the analgesic effects, of tAN in patients with stroke with chronic upper-extremity pain. MATERIALS AND
methodsOverall, 15 patients with stroke with chronic upper-extremity pain were enrolled. Each participant received a single 30-minute session of tAN (active or sham). Subjective stroke-related pain ratings and thermal pain thresholds (through quantitative sensory testing; QST) were collected immediately before and after the 30-minute tAN session. Repeated-measures two-way analyses of variance were performed with group (sham vs active tAN) and time (pre- vs post-tAN) as factors to evaluate the potential analgesic effects of tAN on both pain measures.
resultsQST pain threshold analysis in the 14 patients who completed the study revealed a significant time × group interaction [F(1,12) = 7.658, p = 0.017]. Post hoc analysis indicated a potentiation in pain threshold after active stimulation (p = 0.032), whereas no change was observed in the sham group.
conclusionsThis pilot study showed that tAN is safe and feasible for patients with chronic poststroke pain. Although subjective pain scores improved in both groups, pain threshold increased significantly in the active group compared with the sham. Future studies should aim to assess long-term efficacy and optimized parameters, dosing, and treatment duration of tAN for this clinical population to aid in poststroke pain. CLINICAL
trial registrationThe Clinicaltrials.gov registration number for the study is NCT06456385.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.