Evidence, at your pace.

Three months of active tcVNS reduced activation in fear-mediating brain regions during trauma-script exposure relative to sham in PTSD patients.

Acute auricular vagus nerve stimulation at the tragus or cymba conchae produced modest changes in blood pressure and cardiac autonomic modulation in healthy and hypertensive individuals.

Pooling individual data from 10 studies (112 patients), VNS was associated with a mean CRS-R increase of 2.78 points, with 40.2% exceeding the minimal clinically important difference and greater gains in minimally conscious state patients.

It is also unclear whether P2X receptor blockade could compromise the essential defensive functions of cough regulated by the vagal Aδ-fibres terminating in the extrapulmonary airways.

Sham-controlled RCT in older patients found taVNS reduced postoperative delirium (12% vs 25.3%), partly mediated by improved postoperative sleep.

A narrative review of taVNS and the brain-gut axis for regulating glucose and lipid metabolism.

A randomised sham-controlled trial of a miniaturised closed-loop VNS system found it safe and feasible, producing lasting upper-limb recovery in chronic stroke.

Across 24-month RECOVER follow-up, about two-thirds of participants who reached meaningful benefit at 12 months sustained it at 24 months, with roughly one-third progressing to full response.

In a three-arm randomised trial, auricular nerve stimulation produced no significant difference in post-COVID fatigue versus sham or placebo at eight weeks; fatigue fell similarly across all arms.

Meta-analysis of RCTs found taVNS produced superior upper-limb motor scores versus control (SMD 1.35) and benefited post-stroke functional recovery.

All groups showed significant improvement (p < 0.05), but VR plus taVNS produced the most consistent gains across postural and symptom measures.

At-home taVNS for 8 weeks was feasible and acceptable in WTC responders (90.6% retention), with 40% of the active group showing >=10-point CAPS-5 reductions in this feasibility-focused randomized sham-controlled trial.

Among 22 epilepsy patients, a fast VNS cycle (shorter interval between stimulations) was independently associated with a higher apnea-hypopnea index on polysomnography.

Evidence implicates neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and epigenetic dysregulation as central mechanisms, with emerging data suggesting early tauopathy and sex-specific immune responses.

While no significant between-group differences were observed in pain intensity, left-sided stimulation (aVNS-L) was associated with a modest but significant reduction in global symptom severity.

PRISMA systematic review of 10 cohort studies and 8 case series (>900 cases) found adjunctive VNS provided sustained response and remission over 2 or more years in treatment-resistant depression.

Interventions targeting both arms of the autonomic nervous system, including sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, and the vasculature (carotid or renal arteries) demonstrated preferable results.

Across randomised trials, transcutaneous VNS showed no significant effect on time- or frequency-domain heart rate variability, indicating the evidence for an HRV benefit is limited and inconsistent.

Significant improvements were observed in total COMPASS-31 scores (P<0.05), particularly within the orthostatic (P<0.05), vasomotor (P<0.05), and pupillomotor (P<0.05) subdomains.

OSA was identified in 11 of 14 children with new-onset snoring after VNS, with obstructive events synchronised to stimulation cycles and resolved by nighttime VNS parameter adjustment in 67%.

Pilot of taVNS in 13 chronic tinnitus patients reported clinical symptom improvement alongside diffusion-tensor-imaging white-matter changes.

The patient exhibited a significant reduction in total fatigue, with early improvements in motivation and mental fatigue, and delayed improvement in physical fatigue following transient systemic symptom flares.

TaVNS group showed significantly improved clinical assessment compared with staVNS.

Percutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation was associated with sustained reductions in blood pressure in hypertensive chronic pain patients across two centers.