Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Chronic Tic Disorders/Tourette's Syndrome in Children and Adolescents

October 24, 2026 updated by: WangSimeng, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University

Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Chronic Tic Disorders/Tourette's Syndrome in Children and Adolescents: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

The objective of this trial is to evaluate the effect of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation compared to sham stimulation in improving chronic tic disorder or Tourette's syndrome in children and adolescents.

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

Participants will be randomly assigned to receive transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation or sham stimulation. Both interventions will be administered 5 times per week for 8 weeks. Study outcomes will be evaluated at baseline and at weeks 4, 8, and 12.

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.
124

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

  • China
    • Zhejiang
      • Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, 310000
        • The first Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (FirstZhejiangCMU)
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Simeng Wang, PHD

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

6 years to 18 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria

  1. Meets the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for Tourette syndrome or chronic motor or vocal tic disorder;
  2. Age ≥6 and <18 years;
  3. YGTSS-TTS >15, or >10 for participants with motor tics or vocal tics only;
  4. If the participant is taking medication at enrollment, the medication regimen and dosage must have been stable for at least 4 weeks, with no planned changes in medication or dosage during the study;
  5. Has not received any non-pharmacological treatment for tics (e.g., acupuncture, transcranial magnetic stimulation, deep brain stimulation) within the preceding 8 weeks;
  6. Provides written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria

  1. Mental or cognitive disability that would preclude participation in the study;
  2. Ear skin lesions, such as infection or eczema;
  3. An implanted cardiac pacemaker or other electronic medical device;
  4. Severe physical diseases, such as coronary heart disease, malignancy, or renal failure;
  5. Current participation in another clinical trial.

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: Triple

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: Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation

Participants will receive transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation five times per week for eight consecutive weeks.
Device: Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation

Participants in the transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation group will receive stimulation at auricular acupoints located within the distribution area of the vagus nerve. A Hwato SDZ-II B electroacupuncture apparatus will be employed, with the two connecting clips of the same output lead attached to the acupoints on the same side. Disperse-dense wave stimulation will be applied, with the intensity adjusted according to the patient's tolerance, and each session will last 30 minutes.
Sham Comparator: Sham stimulation

Participants will receive sham stimulation five times per week for eight consecutive weeks.
Device: Sham stimulation

Participants in the sham group will receive electrical stimulation at auricular acupoints located outside the distribution area of the vagus nerve, with a current intensity of 0.1 mA. All other procedures will be identical to those of the treatment group.

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
The Yale Global Tic Severity Scale Total Tic Score
Time Frame: Week 8 (post treatment).

The Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) is a clinician-rated instrument designed to evaluate the severity of motor tics, phonic tics, and overall impairment over the preceding week. Motor and vocal tics are rated independently across five dimensions (number, frequency, intensity, complexity, and interference; range 0-5 each), and the dimension scores are summed to yield separate Motor and Vocal Tic scores (range 0-25 each) as well as a combined YGTSS Total Tic Score (range 0-50), with higher scores indicating greater tic severity. The YGTSS Impairment Rating captures tic-related distress and functional impact (range 0-50). The YGTSS Total Tic Score and the YGTSS Impairment Rating are summed to produce a YGTSS total score (range 0-100), with higher scores indicating greater overall severity.
Week 8 (post treatment).

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
The Yale Global Tic Severity Scale Total Score
Time Frame: Week 0 (baseline), week 4, week 8 (post treatment), week 12 (follow-up).

The Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) is a clinician-rated instrument assessing motor tics, vocal tics, and impairment over the preceding week. Motor and vocal tics are each rated on five dimensions (number, frequency, intensity, complexity, and interference; 0-5 each), yielding Motor and Vocal Tic scores (0-25 each) and a YGTSS Total Tic Score (0-50). The YGTSS Impairment (0-50) is added to the YGTSS Total Tic Score to produce a YGTSS Total Score (0-100), with higher scores indicating greater severity.
Week 0 (baseline), week 4, week 8 (post treatment), week 12 (follow-up).
Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale
Time Frame: Week 0 (baseline), week 4, week 8 (post treatment), week 12 (follow-up).

The Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) will be used to assess the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in children and adolescents. The total score of CY-BOCS ranges from 0 to 40, with higher scores indicate greater symptom severity.
Week 0 (baseline), week 4, week 8 (post treatment), week 12 (follow-up).
Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham-IV-18
Time Frame: Week 0 (baseline), week 4, week 8 (post treatment), week 12 (follow-up).

The Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham Rating Scale version IV (SNAP-IV-18) will be used to assess symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents. The total score of SNAP-IV-18 ranges from 0 to 54, with higher scores indicate more severe symptoms.
Week 0 (baseline), week 4, week 8 (post treatment), week 12 (follow-up).
Child and Adolescent Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome-Quality of Life
Time Frame: Week 0 (baseline), week 4, week 8 (post treatment), week 12 (follow-up).

The Child and Adolescent Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome-Quality of Life (C&A-GTS-QOL) questionnaire will be used to assess health-related quality of life in children and adolescents with Tourette syndrome. The total score of C&A-GTS-QOL is typically transformed to a 0-100 scale, with higher scores indicating greater impairment and poorer quality of life.
Week 0 (baseline), week 4, week 8 (post treatment), week 12 (follow-up).

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Adverse Events
Time Frame: Week 0 (baseline) to week 12.

An adverse event is any unexpected symptom, sign, or health condition occurring after initiation of study treatment, which may or may not be related to the study intervention. Pre-existing health conditions or diseases will only be considered as adverse events if they worsen after enrollment.
Week 0 (baseline) to week 12.

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.
The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University

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.
October 31, 2026

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.
October 31, 2027

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.
October 31, 2027

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 27, 2026

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.
September 27, 2026

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.
October 2, 2026

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 28, 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.
October 24, 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.
October 1, 2026

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.
  • FirstZhejiangCMU

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Deidentified participant data will be available from the study PI upon reasonable request after publication.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL

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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