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The Efficacy and Safety of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Depression in PD

Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation Alleviates Depressive Symptoms in Patients With Parkinson's Disease and Depression During Verbal Fluency Tasks

Status
Not yet recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT07679529
Acronym
PD-D-taVNS
Enrollment
30
Registered
2026-07-01
Start date
2026-07-01
Completion date
2026-08-01
Last updated
2026-07-01

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Parkinson Disease

Keywords

Parkinson's disease, depression, taVNS

Brief summary

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

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 value the patient could tolerate without causing pain.Sham 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. The stimulation paradigm was identical to that of the real stimulation group. The stimulation intensity was set as the maximum value the patient could tolerate without causing pain.

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.

Sponsors

The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University
Lead SponsorOTHER
The Second People's Hospital of Huai'an
CollaboratorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
40 Years to 80 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

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.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
change of Hamilton Depression Scale ScoreAssessed at baseline, one day post intervention,2 weeks post interventionHamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D score), which was used for assessing the degree of Depression.The differences in HAMD score before and after treatment can be used to evaluate the effect of taVNS treatment
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 treatmentAssessed at baseline, one day post intervention#2 weeks post intervention

Contacts

CONTACTKezhong Zhang
kezhong_zhang1969@126.com13770840575
STUDY_DIRECTORKezhong Zhang

China, Jiang Su the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Jul 2, 2026