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Pilot Testing of Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Early Spinal Cord Injury Recovery

NCT07562113 · Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING · Phase: PHASE1/PHASE2 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 50

Last updated 2026-05-22

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

This study looks at a treatment called transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation, or taVNS. taVNS uses a small device worn on the ear to gently stimulate a nerve. Researchers want to find out if this treatment is safe and well-tolerated for people who recently had a spinal cord injury (SCI).

This study will also help researchers learn whether taVNS can be safely added to standard mobility therapy, and whether it might help improve mobility.

This study has two main goals:

1. To find out whether taVNS is safe and comfortable for people with a recent spinal cord injury.
2. To get information on whether taVNS may help improve mobility when compared to people who completed rehabilitation before this study started.

This study has two parts.

In the first part, participants will wear the taVNS device once for a short period of time. During this part investigators will measure how participant's heart rate and blood pressure may change before, during, and after the stimulation. Investigators will also ask about how the stimulation made participants feel.

In the second part, participants will wear the taVNS device for a short time right before a mobility therapy session. During this part investigators will measure how participants heart rate and blood pressure may change before, during, and after the stimulation and during and after the walking therapy. Investigators will also ask about how the stimulation made participants feel.

Conditions

  • Spinal Cord Injuries (Complete and Incomplete)

Interventions

DEVICE

Transauricular vagus nerve stimulation

bilateral transauricular vagal nerve stimulation

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Alabama at Birmingham

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Rachel E Cowan, PhD · University of Alabama at Birmingham

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
89 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-06-01
Primary Completion
2027-12-15
Completion
2027-12-15

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Companies

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07562113 on ClinicalTrials.gov