Parkinson’s and vagal nerve stimulation, promising human studies.

[House2]

RESULTS: PD patients showed instable gait with insufficient range of motion during usual walking. Active taVNS improved gait characteristics including step length, stride velocity, stride length, and step length variability compared with sham taVNS after completion of the 7-day therapy. No difference was found in the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale III, Timed Up and Go, Tinetti Balance, and Gait scores. Moreover, PD patients had higher relative change of oxyhemoglobin in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, pre-motor area, supplementary motor area, primary motor cortex, and primary somatosensory cortex than HCs group during usual walking. Hemodynamic responses in the left primary somatosensory cortex were significantly decreased after taVNS therapy.

CONCLUSION: taVNS can relieve gait impairments and remodel sensorimotor integration in PD patients. 1

 

RESULTS: The left taVNS induced a reduction of the total β power in the contralateral (ie, right) subthalamic nucleus and an improvement of TUG time, speed, and variability. The taVNS-induced β reduction correlated with the improvement of gait speed. No major clinical changes were observed at UPDRS.

CONCLUSIONS: taVNS is a promising strategy for the management of PD gait, deserving prospective trials of chronic neuromodulation. 2

 

1.         Zhang H, Cao XY, Wang LN, et al. Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation improves gait and cortical activity in Parkinson’s disease: A pilot randomized study. CNS Neurosci Ther. Published online June 13, 2023. doi:10.1111/cns.14309

2.         Marano M, Anzini G, Musumeci G, et al. Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Stimulation Improves Gait and Reaction Time in Parkinson’s Disease. Mov Disord Off J Mov Disord Soc. 2022;37(10):2163-2164. doi:10.1002/mds.29166

 

[PDTom]

I'm trying it out right now, but I don't have the device from the study...

[Router_ in reply to PDTom]

what device are you using ?

[PDTom in reply to Router_]

te

EV-804A

[Router_ in reply to PDTom]

And they have ear clips? Saw two other alternatives, the pulsetto and the nurosym. Pulsetto seems tempting from a price perspective and neck position

[PDTom in reply to Router_]

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[PDTom in reply to Router_]

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[John_morris71 in reply to PDTom]

Could you please provide a link to buy the device and also provide updates at periodic intervals of time - at your convenience?

[jeffmayer]

Translation pleqse

[House2 in reply to jeffmayer]

stimulation of the outer ear with mild electrical current (vagal nerve stimulation)was shown to have a positive influence on walking in PWP.

[jeffmayer in reply to House2]

Is it available now or still being trialled my walking is awful

[House2 in reply to jeffmayer]

stimulation at the outer ear improves gait/walking.

[JayPwP]

Which device was used in the study? Will any TENS device with a ear attachment work here?

[House2 in reply to JayPwP]

from what I've read (I'm not a physician) a simple TENS unit should work. Set the pulse frequency to below 10 (this starts/stops the stimulation, think of a blinking light.) The intensity of the stimulation to a level that is not unpleasant/painful, do the stimulation for 20 minutes daily. AND CLEAR IT WITH YOUR DOCTOR!

[House2 in reply to JayPwP]

From what I've read, yes. TENS should work. Google "earclip electrode"

[JayPwP in reply to House2]

Thank you

[Sun_and_flowers]

I'm sorry if I sound thick, but I don't understand very well the apparent contradiction (to me) of "improvement of TUG time, speed and variability" and at the same time, "No major clinical changes were observed at UPDRS".Like I say, it's probably me being dim, but I don't really understand it... 🤔

[House2 in reply to Sun_and_flowers]

(T)ime (U)p & (G)o from what I understand, is the time it takes you to get up out of a chair, walk a defined distance, turn around, go back and sit down. iF I am correct, it is separate from and not included in the UPDRS. So changes in the UPDR scale would not necessarily be seen. When I was recently at physiotherapy, they did a modified TUG test: get up out of a chair, turn 360 degrees, walk to and open a door, pass through the doorway, turn 360, walk back and sit down.

[Sun_and_flowers in reply to House2]

Thank you, House2!

[Gallowglass]

wonder if we can get the same results by massaging our ears!?

[House2 in reply to Gallowglass]

I think you would need to 1. massage the ear for a long time and 2. it would be difficult to massage the specific site on the ear that is related to the vagas nerve.

[kaypeeoh]

"....wonder if we can get the same results by massaging our ears!?"

In acupuncture tapping the ears elicits a response to the balance centers of the brain.

[JayPwP in reply to kaypeeoh]

Worth a try...

[JayPwP]

healthunlocked.com/cure-par...

[John_morris71 in reply to JayPwP]

I got a rechargeable TEN's UNIT from Amazon for $36.00 and then the ear clips for $10.00

amazon.com/dp/B09Z6Y11Q5?ps...

Ear clips - you do not need those patches to complete the circuit if you use this. One clip (dual clip) with 2 prongs does the trick. Stick it to the tregus

amazon.co.uk/TENS-Ear-Clip....

Watch from 40 seconds to 1.10 minutes seconds for the dual clip

youtube.com/watch?v=rA-dL0k...(Not working as expected?)

[JayPwP in reply to John_morris71]

Thank you

[Bear1927 in reply to John_morris71]

Hi John_morris71

Have you been using the device and is there any positive change?

[John_morris71 in reply to Bear1927]

Have been using and it has only been a couple of weeks. Too early to expect any improvement. Will use it for another 6 to 8 weeks and notice.

[Bear1927 in reply to John_morris71]

ok, thanks for response

[pad99999 in reply to John_morris71]

hello john , are this device affect your walking ?