Vagus nerve stimulation improves gait - Cure Parkinson's
Vagus nerve stimulation improves gait
Stimulating the vagus nerve can reduce inflammation and increase BDNF (stating from memory from multiple random sources)
So I’m wondering if a device like this could be beneficial.
Anyone using this or something like it?
VNS can be done with a simple TENS unit and earclip electrodes.
I recently bought the CES insomnia treatment device from Zenofsleep.com. You can use clip it to various ear parts :). I bought it one night when I was totally desperate and not sleeping and I was looking up Vagus nerve stimulation etc. but I don’t remember it being freakishly expensive. But then again it was probably around 2 AM or 3 AM so who knows what I signed up for LOL.
The manual that came with it is kind of a trip. It’s very poorly written. Comically so.
Once I start using the device, I’ll post about it.
I understood the instructions but I just looked at them and then put them away again with the device. Total lack of energy. Sometimes it’s hard to do things that will maybe make you feel better, if you already feel not well. 
They used the Gamma Core! electrocore.com/news/gammac...
Thank you Bolt. I meant to post the device I was referring to. Oops. Looks like it can be prescribed. I get headaches pretty much daily. I’m going to inquire about getting a prescription for this.
This unit right above your comment is not suitable for patients with stents, therefore, not qualified for it. 
See the science of the GammaCore! electrocore.com/nVNS/
What is the word I am looking for to describe these people? It is not a nice word.
They have the GammaCore, which is obviously two electrodes that output some electrical stimulation. So how much does it cost? $450 for 3 months!
So they sell you something that could work forever, but they program it to only work for 3 months?
"gammaCore Sapphire Starter Kit (3 months)
The gammaCore Sapphire Starter Kit has everything you need to get started. It includes the gammaCore Sapphire device preloaded with 3 months of therapy, charging case, charging cord, 3 months of conductive gel and Instructions for Use." mygammacore.vytal.care/shop...
What about this?
Interesting. This is the unit he recommended: TENS 7000 Digital TENS Unit with Accessories - TENS Unit Muscle Stimulator for Back Pain, General Pain Relief, Neck Pain, Muscle Pain $33 amazon.com/TENS-7000-Digita...
neuvanalife.com/I think this might be better than the first one. I want to decrease what I’m ingesting and find ways to help myself via other means.
Very interesting, CC! Are you planning on buying it?
I think it could be a good add on Despe. I have been doing things to increase my vagal tone (or attempting to anyways.). But this looks like it might be a good investment. I wonder what the place you get oxygen therapy from would think of this?
I don't know, CC. Hubby is due an ozone therapy but not until next month. We don't talk to the owner and PA unless we want to discuss a specific issue. Ozone therapy (10 par) is $800.00. It's very expensive and we are trying to have it (hubby) every other month.
I have two TENS muscle relaxants units. I might have hubby try it, placing the patches on his back.
I had found out about the gamma core for my daughter's friend who has migraines and she wanted to try it but the cost was prohibitive (sad)
Yes, that thing is ridiculous. Please see the video above CC posted. They stimulate the vagus nerve, tVNS, using a TENS 7000 unit that costs $35 on Amazon. You need to get ear clips for it. Recommendations for ear clips are in the comments (you have to go to YouTube to read the comments).
I read online that you can get prescribed gamma core.
BE CAREFUL! BTW, this document has everything!
Critical Review of Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation: Challenges for Translation to Clinical Practice 2020 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
"With regard to stimulation frequency, the currently used range of 20–30 Hz has never been validated for its therapeutic effects (Laqua et al., 2014). Following studies showing that stimulation frequencies of 50 Hz and above can cause major and irreversible damage to the vagus nerve during VNS (Agnew and McCreery, 1990), stimulation frequencies between 20 and 30 Hz were arbitrarily selected in order to limit adverse events associated with direct stimulation of the carotid sheath and were subsequently approved by the FDA (Groves and Brown, 2005). Lower frequencies of stimulation have also been explored. Liu et al. (2018) have found that 10 Hz tVNS for 20 min periods three times per day for 6 months reduced the number of seizures, while 8 Hz stimulation leads to activation in frontal and limbic brain areas as measured by fMRI (Kraus et al., 2007). Straube et al. (2015) have seen a stronger reduction in migraine episodes when stimulating at 1 Hz than when stimulating at 25 Hz. Thus, it should not be assumed that stimulation frequencies within the 20–30 Hz range are optimal for tVNS, and additional controlled studies are warranted to elucidate the effect of stimulation frequency rather than a selection based on past FDA approval of a related, yet different, technique."
Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) as a potential therapeutic application for neurodegenerative disorders - A focus on dysautonomia in Parkinson's disease 2021 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/343...
"The understandings of pathogenic processes in major neurodegenerative diseases has significantly advanced in recent years, with evidence showing pathological spread of intraneuronal proteinaceous inclusions as a fundamental factor. In Parkinson's disease (PD), the culprit protein has been identified as α-synuclein as the main component for mediating progressive neurodegeneration. With severe pathology evident in the autonomic nervous system prior to clinical manifestations of PD, pathogenic spread can occur from the peripheral nervous system through key nuclei, such as the anterior olfactory nucleus and dorsal motor nucleus of the glossopharyngeal and vagal nerves, gradually reaching the brainstem, midbrain and cerebral cortex. With this understanding and the proposed involvement of the vagus nerve in disease progression in PD, notably occurring prior to characterized clinical motor features, it raises intriguing questions as to whether vagal nerve pathology can be accurately detected, and importantly used as a reliable marker for determining early neurodegeneration. Along with this is the potential use of vagus nerve neuromodulation for treatment of early disease symptoms like dysautonomia, for modulating sympatho-vagal imbalances and easing severe comorbidities of the disease. In this article, we take a closer look at the pathogenic transmission processes in neurodegenerative disorders that impact the vagus nerve, and how vagus nerve neuromodulation can be potentially applied as a therapeutic approach for major neurodegenerative disorders."
BIG NEWS:
Transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation (tVNS) improves reversal of chronic autonomic dysfunction when added to a multi-faceted anti-inflammatory regimen 2017 brainstimjrnl.com/article/S...
"Chronic autonomic dysfunction is associated with a wide variety of conditions such as cancer, atherosclerosis, hypertension, recurrent headaches, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The ability to reverse autonomic (ANS) dysfunction could have a positive effect on the clinical outcome of these conditions."
(that is all I could get, but it seems tVNS is anti-inflammatory)
It is. That’s why it helps reduce headaches and epilepsy. I’ve been doing manual vagus nerve massages and it is bizarrely helpful in improving my mental state but doesn’t do much of anything for my headaches so I decided to seek out something more which lead me to the device I originally posted.
Vagal Nerve Stimulation Reverses Aberrant Dopamine System Function in the Methylazoxymethanol Acetate Rodent Model of Schizophrenia 2014 jneurosci.org/content/jneur...
"Vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) is an alternative therapy for epilepsy and treatment refractory depression. Here we examine VNS as a potential therapy for the treatment of schizophrenia in the methylozoxymethanol acetate (MAM) rodent model of the disease. We have previously demonstrated that hyperactivity within ventral regions of the hippocampus (vHipp) drives the dopamine system dysregulation in this model. Moreover, by targeting the vHipp directly, we can reverse aberrant dopamine system function and associated behav-
iors in the MAM model. Although the central effects of VNS have not been completely delineated, positron emission topographic measurements of cerebral blood flow in humans have consistently reported that VNS stimulation induces bilateral decreases in hippocampal activity. Based on our previous observations, we performed in vivo extracellular electrophysiological recordings in MAM- and saline-treated rats to evaluate the effect of chronic (2 week) VNS treatment on the activity of putative vHipp pyramidal neurons, as well as downstream dopamine neuron activity in the ventral tegmental area. Here we demonstrate that chronic VNS was able to reverse both vHipp hyperactivity and aberrant mesolimbic dopamine neuron function in the MAM model of schizophrenia. Additionally, VNS reversed a behavioral correlate of the positive symptoms of schizophrenia. Because current therapies for schizophrenia are far from adequate, with a large number of patients discontinuing treatment due to low efficacy or intolerable side effects, it is important to explore alternative nonpharmacological treatments. These data provide the first preclinical evidence that VNS may be a possible alternative therapeutic approach for the treatment of schizophrenia."
Five Tips for Boosting your Vagus Nerve - YouTube 2
I highly recommend reading this book before doing anything about your Vagus nerve.
Vagus Nerve Stimulation can be very benefecial if doing it correctly and through natural ways and very destructive and damaging if doing in an aggresive way like using many Vagus Nerve Stimulation Devices in the market.
Book: Vagus Nerve: Self-Help Exercises for Vagus Nerve Stimulation. Gregory Cooper (author)
Per the nature article linked to in the original post, this device did improve gait, but the changes in the UPDRS score were the same in both the test group and the placebo group: nature.com/articles/s41531-...
That’s why I stated it improved gait, because it improved gait. 🐰
Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation improves clinical and molecular biomarkers of Parkinson’s disease in patients with freezing of gait nature.com/articles/s41531-...
"Significant improvements in key gait parameters were observed with nVNS, including walking speed, stance time and step length, compared to sham. Similarly, overall motor function (MDS-UPDRS III) also improved significantly following nVNS stimulation. Serum Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF)-α and glutathione levels decreased and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels increased significantly (p < 0.05) after treatment with nVNS."
Also, it was a very short trial: "patients were instructed to deliver 6 two-minute stimulations (total 12 min/day) of the nVNS/sham device (electroCore, Inc. USA) for one month at home."
There is a lot of documentation that stimulating the vagus nerve reduces migraines and seizures via reducing inflammation. It’s used for autism too. Unfortunately I don’t have time to refind this info at the moment. Easter is busy. But I found the trial improving gait to be particularly interesting given that non Parkinson’s studies have shown different neurological benefits. 🐰 maybe we could reap multiple benefits? Reduced headaches, reduces inflammation (which causes headaches) and improved gait? I’m going to try this. It’s just a matter of which device. I’m finding lymphatic drainage to be a good target as well and my little trampoline was a good investment. Happy Bunny Day Bolt! 🐰
This is a misleading summary on the part of the investigators:
"Similarly, overall motor function (MDS-UPDRS III) also improved significantly following nVNS stimulation. "
Improvement was stat sig relative to baseline, but not relative to placebo. Improvement in the placebo arm was as good as the test arm, so the effect versus and placebo was insignificant.
nature.com/articles/s41531-...
Relevant parts of the table shown here:
Does this part make a difference? "Serum Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF)-α and glutathione levels decreased and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels increased significantly (p < 0.05)"
Yes it should, as should the gait improvement. Per figure 2 the sham treatment did not improve these markers. Very strange that the UPDRS test results versus sham did not reflect these improvements at all.
Maybe improving biomarkers are a leading indicator? I imagine actually improving symptoms takes a long time. I wonder if these improved biomarkers are bringing the biomarkers to normal, or just less bad?
Per the above image the symptoms did improve. The issue is the sham treatment symptoms improved equally well.
I have a lot of experience with tVNS (at the ear), an acupuncturist taught me the set-up years before my PD diagnosis. I used it for treatment for concussion/mTBI (martial arts). I've seen it help people with seizures, gastroparesis, headaches, autoimmune arthritis, PTSD and PD. I had to stop tVNS (like many other things that seemed to help my PD) because of other non-PD related illnesses (hypotension, hypoglycemia and pulmonary emboli). Frustrating
I’m sorry to hear that you are dealing with additional illnesses. I have both hypotension and hypoglycemia too. Both are related to PD from what I was told by a neuro. Pulmonary emboli? Embolism? Is low blood sugar and low blood pressure a bad combo with VNS? If yes then others should be warned of this as I believe both are common in PD.
VNS lowers blood pressure and reduces heart rate, bad idea if you have hypotension.
Oh 😞
“Vasovagal syncope” describes my symptoms and might fit yours as well.
Exactly, I've passed out and smacked my head 4 times, not fun.
"Vasovagal syncope (vay-zoh-VAY-gul SING-kuh-pee) occurs when you faint because your body overreacts to certain triggers, such as the sight of blood or extreme emotional distress. It may also be called neurocardiogenic syncope. The vasovagal syncope trigger causes your heart rate and blood pressure to drop suddenly."
I read that and immediately thought of the opening credits of Quincy ME.
Sorry you both are going through that.
Won't your BP return to normal within 30 minutes of tVNS?
In my experience, definitely. I suspect that it is out of an abundance of caution that VNS is not recommended for those of us with VS. I’ve never passed out thankfully. House2, I’m sorry to hear you have.
My 11 year old did.
I’m not ready to give up on VNS. I am probably being terribly stubborn. I’m just determined to find interventions or treatments that can be helpful that I don’t have to ingest
Try vestibular stim, too soon to tell, but Bolt's 100/106 BNB seems to help me move better. I use bone conducting headphones with it. Listen to it while doing the Feldenkrais exercises.
Hi House2, I don't know how I missed this post. So the 100/106 is helpful? That is great news. I have been using the 100/138. I will create more 100/106. Thanks for the info on the 100 hz stimulating the vestibular system. That was key information!
try it with bone conduction head phones.
Can you please share which ones you have?
Found a FB group: facebook.com/groups/thevagu...
This is a better group. Smaller, but all about tVNS: facebook.com/groups/tvns1
My favorite (free) POD site is podbay.fm/search?q=vagus
Lot's of PODCasts on the Vagus Nerve!
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