Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Autonomic Nervous System Activity

January 3, 2024 updated by: Alper Percin, Bahçeşehir University

Effects of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Basic Autonomic Nervous System Activity

There are no generally accepted values for transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (taVSS application parameters (amplitude, frequency, intensity, duration, side) yet, therefore there are heterogeneous applications in studies. Although positive effects have been shown in different neurological, psychiatric and musculoskeletal diseases, taVSS treatment is not available yet. It is not clear which parameters are important in patient selection.In this study, it was aimed to investigate the change of taVSS effect in healthy individuals according to the level of autonomic nervous system activity before stimulation.

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.

Detailed Description

Healthy individuals between the ages of 18-45 without any disease will be included in the study. Male and female participants will be included in the study. Heart rate variability will be measured after participants are included in the study. A short 5-minute measurement will be made with the Polar H7 device, which can be measured with the belt attached to the chest. Heart Rate Variability measurement will be analyzed with the Kubios HRV program. Participants will be distributed to groups according to the SNS index and PNS index values obtained as a result of the Kubios analysis. According to the index scores obtained, the distribution of the groups will be made as <-2, between -2 and +2 and >2. Afterwards, 20 minutes of taVSS stimulation will be performed. As a vagus stimulation protocol, bilateral auricular stimulation and stimulation frequency of 10 Hz (Heartz), pulse width of 300 µs (microseconds) for 20 minutes, biphasic application will be given to each participant 2 times, with at least 48 hours between them.

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.
72

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 Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Turkey
    • Iğdır Central
      • Iğdır, Iğdır Central, Turkey, 76000
        • Igdır University

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

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Healthy participants between the ages of 18-45 will be included in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Having an acute or chronic disease,
  • Having previously undergone transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation,
  • Not smoking or using alcohol,
  • Being in the post-menopausal stage in women,
  • Being in the post-andropausal period in men,
  • Being on constant medication,
  • In menstruating women, stimulation and heart rate assessment will be postponed to the next week.

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: Screening
  • 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: Health Participants
Participants in this group will be measured heart rate variability before and after transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation.
Device: Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation
As a vagus stimulation protocol, bilateral auricular stimulation and stimulation frequency of 10 Hz, pulse width of 300 µs, biphasic application for 20 minutes, each participant will be stimulated twice, with at least 48 hours between them.

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
Measure Description
Time Frame
Heart Rate Variability Parameters-Stress Index
Time Frame: 5 minutes (short measurement) measurement of heart rate variability
Stress index which is a geometric measure of HRV reflecting cardiovascular system stress. High values of SI indicate reduced variability and high sympathetic cardiac activation.
5 minutes (short measurement) measurement of heart rate variability
Heart Rate Variability Parameters-RMSSD
Time Frame: 5 minutes (short measurement) measurement of heart rate variability
RMSSD is a measure of short-term (beat-by-beat) variability. It equals the root mean square of successive differences.
5 minutes (short measurement) measurement of heart rate variability
Heart Rate Variability Parameters-LF (Low Frequency)
Time Frame: 5 minutes (short measurement) measurement of heart rate variability
Power in the Low Frequency band of the HRV spectrum, often between 0.04 - 0.15 Hz, often reported in units of milliseconds-squared.
5 minutes (short measurement) measurement of heart rate variability
Heart Rate Variability Parameters-HF (High Frequency)
Time Frame: 5 minutes (short measurement) measurement of heart rate variability
Power in the High Frequency band of the HRV spectrum, often between 0.15-0.40 Hz, often reported in units of milliseconds-squared.
5 minutes (short measurement) measurement of heart rate variability
Heart Rate Variability Parameters-LF/HF Ratio
Time Frame: 5 minutes (short measurement) measurement of heart rate variability
LF/HF Ratio: A ratio of Low Frequency to High Frequency.
5 minutes (short measurement) measurement of heart rate variability
Heart Rate Variability Parameters-SNS Index
Time Frame: 5 minutes (short measurement) measurement of heart rate variability
Sympathetic cardiac activity is known to 1) increase heart rate, 2) decrease HRV, reducing especially quick RSA related changes in RR interval, and 3) increase the ratio between lower frequency and higher frequency oscillations in HRV data
5 minutes (short measurement) measurement of heart rate variability
Heart Rate Variability Parameters-PNS Index
Time Frame: 5 minutes (short measurement) measurement of heart rate variability
Parasympathetic cardiac activity is known to 1) decrease heart rate (i.e. increase the time interval between successive heart beats), 2) increase HRV via enhanced respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) component (i.e. increasing the quick changes in RR interval linked to respiration - shortening of RR intervals during inhalation and lengthening of RR intervals during exhalation), and 3) decrease the ratio between lower frequency and higher frequency oscillations in HRV time series (i.e. increase the relative amount of quick RSA originated fluctuations in HRV compared to slower short-term fluctuations)
5 minutes (short measurement) measurement of heart rate variability

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.
Bahçeşehir University

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.
  • Study Director: Ali Veysel Özden, MD, PhD., Iğdır University Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Laboratory

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

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.
July 1, 2023

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.
December 1, 2023

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.
December 30, 2023

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).
May 29, 2023

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.
June 7, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

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.
June 18, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

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.
January 5, 2024

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.
January 3, 2024

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, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

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.
  • AP0005

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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.

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