Pilot Study of the Effect of Transcutaneous Stimulation of the Vagus Nerve on Pain Perception and Parameters of the Autonomic Nervous System

cerbomed

Status: Completed

Conditions: Pain

Treatments: Device: t-VNS Sham stimulation; Device: Cerbomed t-VNS® transcutaneous stimulation

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Industry

Identifiers

NCT01174498

cMPsPAI01

Details and patient eligibility

About

The increased incidence of pain syndromes requires the investigation of pathophysiological coherences as well as searching for new therapies. In the recent years neurostimulating techniques have been a promising approach regarding their analgesic effect. Combined with therapeutic standard procedures they can increase these effects and can have a positive impact on co-morbid diseases. The stimulation of the vagus nerve was proved as an efficient analgesic method in animal experiments and open clinical pilot studies amongst humans. Despite the lack of controlled approaches applying the method against defined pain syndromes, the stimulation of the vagus nerve has shown up as an effective method treating other psychiatric diseases like depression. The processing of stress, which is involved directly and indirectly in the pathogenesis of pain, seems to be susceptible for vagal stimulation. Compared with invasive methods the transcutaneous stimulation offers obvious advantages concerning appliance and occurrence of side effects. There are no studies so far dealing with the neuromodulatory effect on the handling of pain or the clinical therapy of defined (chronic) pain related diseases using the t-VNS system. The study hypothesis implies a change of experiencing pain when applying the t-VNS in healthy subjects.

Enrollment: 48 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Age: Minimum: 18 years Maximum: no limit
• Both Gender
• Normal psychiatric medical history
• Normal neurological report

Exclusion criteria

• Psychiatric disease incl. pain-related diseases
• Subject is on medication
• Abuse of drugs or alcohol until 12 weeks before enrollment in the study
• Actual wearing conditions
• Pronounced lack of sleep within the last 2 days of enrollment
• Excessive consumption of alcohol in the last 2 days
• Peripheral neuropathy
• Severe neurological diseases (cerebrovascular diseases, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, Morbus Parkinson, dementia, systemic neurologic diseases etc.)
• migraine
• carpal tunnel syndrome or other entrapment syndromes
• missing Informed Consent
• Pregnancy
• active implant (like cochlea implant, VNS, pacemaker)
• severe internistic diseases (e.g. arterial hypertension, respiratory failure)
• malignant diseases within the last five years
• severe acute infections (e.g. HIV, hepatitis)
• diseases of the ENT bodysystem: Hearing loss of the left ear which is treated with an hearing instrument, all dermatologic and infectious diseases which affect the area around the pinna and the ear canal
• Other circumstances that in the opinion of the investigator might be an obstacle for enrolling the subject

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Crossover Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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48 participants in 2 patient groups

t-VNS sytem Vagus stimulation

Active Comparator group

Description:

Subjects experience a transcutaneous vagal stimulation by the t-VNS device

Treatment:

Device: Cerbomed t-VNS® transcutaneous stimulation

Sham transcutaneous stimulation

Sham Comparator group

Description:

Sham stimulation with an attached t-VNS device

Treatment:

Device: t-VNS Sham stimulation