Efficacy and safety of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation combined with conventional rehabilitation training in acute stroke patients: a randomized controlled trial conducted for 1 year involving 60 patients

Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (ta-VNS) is a novel noninvasive treatment for stroke that directly stimulates the peripheral auricular branch of the vagus nerve. There have been recent reports that ta-VNS combined with conventional rehabilitation training promotes the recovery of neurological function of patients with acute stroke. However, these were small-sample-sized studies on the recovery of neurological function in patients after percutaneous vagus nerve stimulation in the subacute and chronic phases after stroke. This double-blinded randomized controlled trial involved 60 acute ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke patients aged 18-80 years who received treatment in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University. The subjects were randomly assigned to receive ta-VNS or sham ta-VNS combined with conventional rehabilitation training. The follow-up results over 1 year revealed that ta-VNS combined with conventional rehabilitation training greatly improved the recovery of motor and sensory functions and emotional responses compared with sham ta-VNS combined with conventional rehabilitation training. There were no obvious side effects. These findings suggest that ta-VNS combined with conventional rehabilitation training for the treatment of acute ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke patients is safe and effective.