The Efficacy and Safety of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Depression in PD
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Active Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation, Sham Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Parkinson Disease. Basic parameters: 40 years — 80 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Center list to be confirmed — check the primary protocol.
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Official title
Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation Alleviates Depressive Symptoms in Patients With Parkinson's Disease and Depression During Verbal Fluency Tasks
Overview
This study is a double blind comparative study examining the effectiveness of the transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation treatment on Parkinson's disease patients with depression. The investigators hypothesize that taVNS will improve depression and cortical activity in Parkinson's disease patients with depression.
Detailed description
Participants in the Experimental group underwent fourteen consecutive daily sessions of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS, twice daily, 30 minutes each time) , whereas participants in the sham stimulation group underwent fourteen consecutive daily sessions of sham taVNS. Assessments of depression symptoms, motor symptoms were performed three times: at baseline, one day post intervention and 2 weeks post intervention. The cortical activity (using Functional near-infrared spectroscopy) were assessed at baseline, one day post intervention.
Interventions
- Device Active Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation
Active Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation:Two modified dot-like electrodes delivered the stimulation to the cymba conchae of left ear in the vicinity of the auricular branch vagus nerve.Stimulation parameters: frequency = 20/4 Hz; pulse width = 200 μs; 20 Hz lasting 7 seconds, alternated with 4 Hz lasting 3 seconds#repeat until 30 min.Every PD patient received stimulation twice daily ,30 minutes each time, for 14 consecutive days. The stimulation intensity was set as the maximum va - Device Sham Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation
Two modified dot-like electrodes delivered the stimulation to the left earlobe. Stimulation parameters: frequency = 20/4 Hz; pulse width = 200 μs; 20 Hz lasting 7 seconds, alternated with 4 Hz lasting 3 seconds#repeat until 30 min. Every PD patient received stimulation twice daily , 30 minutes each time, for 14 consecutive days. The stimulation intensity was set as the maximum value the patient could tolerate without causing pain.
Primary outcome measures
- change of Hamilton Depression Scale Score [Time frame: Assessed at baseline, one day post intervention,2 weeks post intervention]
- change of Hamilton Depression Scale Score Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-D score), which was used for assessing the degree of anxiety.The differences in HAMD score before and after treatment can be used to evaluate the effect of taVNS treatment [Time frame: Assessed at baseline, one day post intervention#2 weeks post intervention]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
This study recruited right-handed subjects from the Department of Neurology, Huai'an Second People's Hospital. The inclusion criteria for patients with PD and depression were as follows: diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease based on the clinical diagnostic criteria of the Movement Disorder Society; diagnosis of depressive disorder in accordance with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), with a Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) score ≥ 8; stable medication regimens for Parkinson's disease for at least one month prior to enrollment; aged 40 to 80 years; and voluntary participation with written informed consent. In addition, age- and gender-matched non-depressed PD patients and healthy controls were enrolled to further compare brain functional characteristics among different groups.
Exclusion criteria
presence of cognitive impairment defined as a Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score < 23; ongoing use of antidepressant medications; presence of contraindications related to transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS); receipt of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) treatment within the past month; and comorbid severe neurological, renal, cardiovascular or hepatic diseases.
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: Yes
Study design
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Model
- Crossover
- Masking
- Double blind
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
Study locations
Center list to be confirmed — check the primary protocol.
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07679529 · 2026-06 · The First Affiliated Hospital