Effect Of Percutaneous Electrical Nerve Field Stimulation on Symptom Control/Nervous System Activity in Patients w/Diabetes Types 1/2 (PENFS)

September 28, 2026 updated by: Thomas V. Nowak, Indiana University

Effect Of Percutaneous Electrical Nerve Field Stimulation (PENFS) On Symptom Control And Autonomic Nervous System Activity In Patients With Diabetes Mellitus

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether stimulation of the vagus nerve can improve nausea and vomiting in diabetic gastroparetic patients.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

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

The vagus nerve is one of the main determinants of gastrointestinal motility and gastric emptying. It has been speculated that neuropathy of the vagus nerve is the cause of the delay in gastric emptying in gastroparesis, the symptoms of which include nausea, vomiting, weight loss, early satiety, abdominal pain and bloating.

Percutaneous Electrical Nerve Field Stimulation (PENFS) has been approved by the FDA to treat adolescents with functional abdominal pain associated with irritable bowel syndrome. In this study, the impact of PENFS on gastroparesis symptoms will be evaluated.

After informed consent is obtained, participant eligibility will be assessed at a Screening Visit. A Hemoglobin A1C level (HgbA1c) will be drawn for this purpose. Eligible participants will then return for 5 Study Visits at which, they will:

  • Complete will complete 4 questionnaires
  • Lie in a supine position and have ECG electrodes applied to the chest and/or arms, palmar skin electrodes placed on the fingers of the non-dominant hand to measure galvanic skin response (GSR) and sympathetic nerve activity, and a chest strap to record respiratory activity. Once the equipment is placed, electrocardiogram (ECG) and GSR will be recorded for 20 minutes in the supine position. After the 20 minutes, participants will be asked to sit while ECG and GSR are recorded for 2 additional minutes. Participants will then stand for an additional 2 minutes of ECG and GSR recordings.
  • Have a PENFS device applied to the left ear (the device will be applied at the first four study visits, and not at the fifth). The device will remain in place for 5 days after each visit.

Each participant will have a PENFS device applied at the study visits, however, participants are randomized to whether they will receive active stimulation during the study. The device will remain in place for 5 days after each visit. On the morning of Day 6 after each study visit, the participants will remove the PENFS device and return it at the next study visit.

Participants will also complete a daily diary to document symptoms over the previous 24 hours. Prior to each study visit, participants will be asked to refrain from caffeine on the day of the visit and to refrain from nicotine use for 24 hours prior to the visit.

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 (Estimated)

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.
60

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.
  • Name: Maureen Schilling, BS
  • Phone Number: 317-278-2064
  • Email: maschi@iu.edu

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Indiana
      • Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, 46202
        • Indiana University Hospital
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Thomas V Nowak, MD
        • Contact:
          • Maureen Schilling, BS
          • Phone Number: 3172782064
          • Email: maschi@iu.edu

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

18 years to 60 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Wiling to have one teaspoon (5 ml) of blood drawn.
  • Willing to have electrodes placed in the external ear.
  • Diagnosed with gastroparesis for twelve months or longer
  • Diagnosed with diabetes either Type 1 or Type 2
  • Documented delayed gastric emptying (>10% retention of the test meal at four hours) on a standardized scrambled-egg scintigraphy gastric emptying test performed in the last two years.
  • Upper GI endoscopy indicating no mechanical obstruction performed in the last five years.
  • Symptoms of nausea and vomiting consistent with clinical diagnosis of gastroparesis (as opposed to other causes of nausea and vomiting such as mechanical obstruction, acute viral illness, chemotherapy, psychogenic vomiting.
  • Documented Hb A1c within three months of screening or at the time of screening (<=8.0)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Unable to provide consent
  • Pregnant females
  • Medical records indicate intestinal pseudo-obstruction
  • Diagnosed with cardiac arrhythmia
  • History of prior gastric surgery
  • History of vagotomy
  • History of organ transplantation
  • History of seizures
  • Diagnosed with primary swallowing disorders
  • Subjects who are dependent on drugs like Marinol for their condition
  • Those diagnosed with psychogenic vomiting and not related to gastroparesis
  • Medically unstable subjects
  • Those at high surgical risk
  • Subjects taking narcotic analgesics daily.
  • Those with poorly controlled diabetes mellitus (Hgb A1c>8) within three months of screening or at the time of screening.
  • Subjects diagnosed with hemophilia, psoriasis vulgaris are excluded
  • Those having a cardiac pacemaker will be excluded from the study.

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: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

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.
Active Comparator: ACTIVE (electrical charge)

The PENFS device is placed behind the patient's left ear and connected to stimulation needles on the auricle. The appliance transmits low-frequency electrical impulses throughout the auricle.
Device: PERCUTANEOUS ELECTRICAL FIELD NERVE STIMULATION

The IB-Stim is a percutaneous electrical nerve field stimulator (PENFS) system intended to be used in patients 11-18 years of age with functional abdominal pain associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The IB-Stim is intended to be used for 120 hours per week up to 3 consecutive weeks, through application to branches of Cranial Nerves V, VII, IX and X, and the occipital nerves identified by transillumination, as an aid in the reduction of pain when combined with other therapies for IBS.

Other Names:
  • IB-STIM
Sham Comparator: Sham percutaneous electrical nerve field stimulation (no electrical charge)

The PENFS device is placed behind the patient's left ear and connected to stimulation needles on the auricle. The appliance will not transmit any electrical impulses.
Device: Sham percutaneous electrical nerve field stimulation

SHAM (no electrical charge)

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
Change in Gastroparesis Cardinal Symptom Index Daily Dairy
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 5

A modified version of the GASTROPARESIS CARDINAL SYMPTOM INDEX - DAILY DIARY (GCSI-DD) will be used. The questionnaire evaluates 4 gastroparesis symptoms (nausea, early satiety, postprandial fullness, upper abdominal pain) and asks participants to rate the severity of symptoms over the past 24 hours on a scale from 0 (none) to 4 (very severe). Additionally, vomiting episodes are reported (0 for none, 1 for one episode, 2 for two episodes, 3 for three episodes, or 4 for four or more episodes). Lower total scores indicate fewer or less severe symptoms.
Baseline, Week 5
Change in Patient Assessment of Upper Gastrointestinal Disorder Symptoms
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 5

Scores are calculated by averaging the scores for each item in the subscale, with scores ranging from 0 (none or absent) to 5 (very severe). Optimal outcome would be a score of zero, no episodes/symptoms.
Baseline, Week 5

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
Change in Heart Rate Variability
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 5

Heart Rate Variability is reported on a 0-100 scale.
Baseline, Week 5
Change in Anxiety
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 5

The General Anxiety Disorder (GAD)-7 scale is from 0-21, where 0= no anxiety and 21=severe anxiety
Baseline, Week 5
Change in the measure of depression
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 5

Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-8 is a questionnaire that measures self-reported depressive systems. PHQ-8 uses a range from 0-24, where 0=no depressive symptoms and 24=severe symptoms.
Baseline, Week 5
Change in Patient Assessment of Upper Gastrointestinal Disorder Symptoms by Diabetes Type
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 5

Scores are calculated by averaging the scores for each item in the subscale, with scores ranging from 0 (none or absent) to 5 (very severe). Optimal outcome would be a score of zero, no episodes/symptoms.
Baseline, Week 5
Change in Gastroparesis Cardinal Symptom Index Daily Diary by Diabetes Type
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 5

A modified version of the GASTROPARESIS CARDINAL SYMPTOM INDEX - DAILY DIARY (GCSI-DD) will be used. The questionnaire evaluates 4 gastroparesis symptoms (nausea, early satiety, postprandial fullness, upper abdominal pain) and asks participants to rate the severity of symptoms over the past 24 hours on a scale from 0 (none) to 4 (very severe). Additionally, vomiting episodes are reported (0 for none, 1 for one episode, 2 for two episodes, 3 for three episodes, or 4 for four or more episodes). Lower total scores indicate fewer or less severe symptoms.
Baseline, Week 5

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.
Indiana 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.
  • Principal Investigator: Thomas V Nowak, MD, IU School of Medicine/IU Health

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 (Estimated)

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.
February 10, 2027

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
February 1, 2029

Study Completion (Estimated)

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.
February 1, 2029

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).
September 9, 2024

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.
January 14, 2025

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.
January 20, 2025

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.
October 1, 2026

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 28, 2026

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.
September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • 18260

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

All data and devices will be stored containing only the study subject number and dates of device usage. Sharing this data will not involve any IPD.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

Yes

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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