Trans-cutaneous Vagal Nerve Electrical Stimulation and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (StVSII)

September 8, 2025 updated by: Hospices Civils de Lyon

Sympatho-vagal Balance in Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and Evaluation of a Transcutaneous Vagal Nerve Electrical Stimulation on Symptoms and Quality of Life

This pilot study plan to investigate the sympathovagal balance in women affected by Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), and to evaluate the effect of 6 months of trans-cutaneous vagal nerve electrical stimulation on digestive physiology (intestinal transit time, intestinal mucosal permeability, systemic and local inflammation), symptoms and quality of life.

The safety of the electrical stimulation of the left vagal nerve will also be evaluated.

Ten women, age between 18 and 60, will be included.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
18

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • France
      • Grenoble, France, 38043
        • Clinique Universitaire d'Hépato-Gastroentérologie - CHU de Grenoble
      • Lyon, France, 69437
        • Service d'Exploration Fonctionnelle Digestive - Hôpital Edouard Herriot - Hospices Civils de Lyon

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

14 years to 56 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • women aged 18-60,
  • clinical Rome III criteria for IBS

Exclusion Criteria:

  • pregnancy,
  • low intensity symptoms (Francis score between 75-150)
  • IBD, coeliac disease
  • past history of abdominal surgery (appendectomy and cholecystectomy allowed)
  • chronic use of analgesics, anti-depressants

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Vagal nerve stimulation
Trans-cutaneous vagal nerve electrical stimulation during 6 months
Device: Trans-cutaneous vagal nerve electrical stimulation

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Improvement of clinical symptoms of IBS, based on the evolution of symptom score (Francis) and symptom scale (UCLA-SSS)
Time Frame: 3 and 6 months after the beginning of electrical stimulation
3 and 6 months after the beginning of electrical stimulation

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Safety and tolerance of trans-cutaneous nerve stimulation as measured by any symptom occurring in relation with electrical stimulation, number of hours per day of system use
Time Frame: 6 months
Any symptom occurring in relation with electrical stimulation, number of hours per day of system use
6 months
Evolution of digestive physiology during vagal nerve stimulation
Time Frame: 3 and 6 months
Digestive physiology is evaluated by intestinal transit time with Smartpill capsule, lactuose/mannitol intestinal permeability test, fecal calprotectin and blood cytokines
3 and 6 months
Effect of vagal nerve stimulation on quality of life
Time Frame: 3 and 6 months
Quality of life and psychological questionnaires
3 and 6 months
Evaluation of sympatho-vagal balance
Time Frame: 0, 3 and 6 months
Measurement by nocturnal EKG Holter of the variability of the interval RR, as a marker of the sympatho-vagal balance
0, 3 and 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Hospices Civils de Lyon

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: François MION, MD, Hospices Civils de Lyon

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

  • Short Communication BIOELECTRONICS IN MEDICINE Volume 3, 2020 - Issue 1 - Pages 5-12 Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome: a pilot, open-label study Francois Mion*,1,2,3 , Sonia Pellissier4, Aur´ elien Garros1, Henri Damon1, Sabine Roman1,2,3 & Bruno Bonaz5,6,7 1Department of Digestive Physiology, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France 2Department of Physiology, Universite´ de Lyon, Lyon, France 3Inserm U1032, LabTau, Lyon, France 4Universite´ Savoie Mont Blanc, Universite´ Grenoble Alpes, LIP/PC2S, 73000, Chambe´ ry 5Division of Hepato-Gastroenterology, CHU Grenoble Alpes, 38000 Grenoble, France 6Hepatogastroenterology, Universite´ Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble 7INSERM U1216, Grenoble Institute Neurosciences, Grenoble *Author for correspondence: francois.mion@chu-lyon.fr

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
May 1, 2015

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
August 1, 2018

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
August 1, 2018

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
April 14, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 16, 2015

First Posted (Estimated)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
April 17, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 9, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 8, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
January 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2014.844

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Clinical Trials on Trans-cutaneous vagal nerve electrical stimulation

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings