NCT07007884

Effect of Transauricular Vagal Stimulation on Cardiac Function After Spinal Cord Injury

The Effect of Transauricular Vagal Nerve Stimulation (taVNS) on Cardiac Autonomic Functions in Patients With Spinal Cord Injury

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 30 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Gaziler Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Education and Research Hospital · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 60 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of transauricular vagal nerve stimulation (taVNS) on cardiac autonomic functions in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Detailed description

Spinal cord injury impairs autonomic pathways and ultimately cardiovascular homeostasis. Spinal cord injury affects the autonomic system, resulting in impaired cardiac autonomic functions. This study is designed to evaluate the effect of transauricular vagal nerve stimulation (taVNS) on cardiac autonomic functions in patients with spinal cord injury.

Conditions

• Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Active Transauricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation	Active taVNS application was performed by stimulating a sterile acupuncture needle (0.25x25 mm) placed on the left ear cymba choncae with a stimulator. Active taVNS group received for 10 days, 30 minutes with a current intensity of 1 mA, pulse width of 200 µs, frequency of 25 Hz and biphasic sinusoidal waveform. In the sham group, stimulation was applied to the lobulus auriculae of the left ear (which is not innervated by the vagus nerve) using the same current intensity and duration as the active group.
DEVICE	Sham Transauricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation	Sham taVNS application was performed by stimulating a sterile acupuncture needle (0.25x25 mm) placed on the left lobulus auriculae of the left ear (which is not innervated by the vagus nerve) with a stimulator. Sham taVNS group received for 10 days, 30 minutes with a current intensity of 1 mA, pulse width of 200 µs, frequency of 25 Hz and biphasic sinusoidal waveform.

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-03-20
• Primary completion: 2025-07-16
• Completion: 2025-09-30
• First posted: 2025-06-06
• Last updated: 2025-06-06

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Turkey (Türkiye)