A pilot randomized controlled trial of supervised, at-home, self-administered transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) to manage long COVID symptoms.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Although the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic has now impacted the world for over two years, the persistent secondary neuropsychiatric effects are still not fully understood. These "long COVID" symptoms, also referred to as post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), can persist for months after infection without any effective treatments. Long COVID involves a complex heterogenous symptomology and can lead to disability and limit work. Long COVID symptoms may be due to sustained inflammatory responses and prolonged immune response after infection. Interestingly, vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) may have anti-inflammatory effects, however, until recently, VNS could not be self-administered, at-home, noninvasively.

Methods

We created a double-blind, n

SUBMITTER: Badran BW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9402278 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature