Investigating the Feasibility and Safety of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation as an Anti-Inflammatory Strategy in Spinal Cord Injury

This study was the first to assess the feasibility, safety and physiological effects of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) in participants with spinal cord injury (SCI). Specifically, we investigated its impact on vagal activity and systemic inflammation. Thirty participants received 60 minutes of active or sham taVNS. Heart rate variability (HRV) was recorded to estimate vagal activity, and fasting blood samples were collected before and after stimulation to measure inflammatory cytokines. Safety was evaluated by monitoring treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs). TaVNS was feasible and safe, with 100% of participants completing the 60-minute stimulation and no serious TEAEs reported. Compared to sham, active taVNS significantly increased HRV indices of vagal tone, but did not change levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. These findings suggest taVNS is a feasible, safe and effective neuromodulation technique for SCI. However, further studies with repeated stimulation are necessary to determine its effect on inflammation following SCI.