Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41783176›Full record

ReviewSurgical neurology international2026

Vagus nerve stimulation: An update of currently registered clinical trials on ClinicalTrials.gov.

Melanie A Horowitz, Jonathan H Sussman, Brolyn Zomalan, Jacob Rendler, Arjit Singh, Natalie Birouty, Margaret Seaton, Saarang Patel, Julian Lassiter Gendreau, Mickey E Abraham

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Surgical neurology international, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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.

Melanie A HorowitzDepartment of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, United States.
Jonathan H SussmanDepartment of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, United States.
Brolyn ZomalanDepartment of Neurosurgery, UC San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, United States.
Jacob RendlerDepartment of Neurosurgery, UC San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, United States.
Arjit SinghDepartment of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Baltimore, United States.
Natalie BiroutyDepartment of Neurosurgery, UC San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, United States.
Margaret SeatonDepartment of Neurosurgery, UC San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, United States.
Saarang PatelDepartment of Biological Sciences, Seton Hall University, South Orange, United States.
Julian Lassiter GendreauDepartment of Neurological Surgery, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, United States.
Mickey E AbrahamDepartment of Neurosurgery, UC San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, United States.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is currently approved for conditions such as drug-resistant epilepsy and stroke with promising results. In addition, it is also being investigated for many other conditions. The goal of this study is to review the scope of VNS clinical trials. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of active and completed clinical trials using ClinicalTrials.gov, with "Vagus Nerve Stimulation" as the search term. The number of studies taking place over time was assessed using Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: An examination of ClinicalTrials.gov revealed 440 clinical trials, with 346 meeting our inclusion criteria. The number of VNS clinical trials increased annually from 2000 to 2024, demonstrating exponential growth after 2015 ( Conclusion: This increasing number of trials assessing a wide breadth of clinical disorders suggests the promising future of VNS as from the currently approved treatments. Physicians should familiarize themselves with these results and potentially upcoming indications for VNS.

Indexed as

Clinical trialsClinicalTrials.govMajor depressive disorderStimulationVagus nerve

Identifiers

PMID41783176
PMCPMC12954253

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-SA
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Registered trials

None linked

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.