nVNS for the Prevention and Treatment of Primary Headache

NCT ID: NCT06277063

Last Updated: 2025-08-12

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

15 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2024-12-05

Study Completion Date

2026-12-30

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

This study is a single-center, single-arm study. All subjects will receive the same treatment.

Children and adolescents (7-20 years old) with migraine who met the inclusion criteria will be enrolled as subjects in the experimental group, and the changes in headache scores before and after the intervention will be compared. The intervention method is as follows: ictal intervention, in which subjects will be evaluated for headache improvement after a short intervention during an acute exacerbation. By wearing a vagus stimulator, the stimulating electrode will be located in the concha region rich in vagus nerve fiber endings, and the appropriate stimulation intensity will be adjusted for stimulation.

Therefore, this study will verify the effect of nVNS on the acute treatment of primary headache in children and adolescents. Based on the electrocardiogram and electromyography indicators during the intervention process of nVNS, an objective evaluation system for the improvement of headache by nVNS is established, and the role of stimulation parameters on the effect is further explored to realize the optimization of parameters.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Primary Headache Migraine in Adolescence Migraine in Children Cluster Headache Tension Headache

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

NA

Intervention Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Acute exacerbation experimental group

VAS pain intensity will be assessed at the onset of headache, and patients will receive nVNS for half an hour within 20 minutes of the onset, and post-treatment evaluation results will be recorded immediately after treatment, 2 hours, 8-12 hours, 24 hours, and 36-48 hours. During the course of treatment and intervention, a 20-minute ECG closed-loop assessment test will be performed before admission and after return. The procedure included: 5 minutes of rest (i.e. no vagal stimulation), 10 minutes of vagal stimulation, 5 minutes of rest(5-10-5), a total of 20 minutes of ECG, and real-time extraction of heart rate and sex data. Neck electromyography before and after intervention was also used as an auxiliary indicator.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation

Intervention Type DEVICE

The vagus nerve's auricular branch is primarily distributed in the tragus, tragus sulcus, and concha cavity. It can activate the nucleus tractus solitarius through the vagus afferent fibers, thereby activating various areas of the vagus nerve in the central nervous system. This stimulation technique involves applying a constant current of around 2-3mA to the epidermal terminals of the ear using an electrode. It aims to regulate the vagus nerve, modulate the autonomic nervous system, release neurotransmitters, improve cerebral blood flow, and alleviate headache symptoms. In the implementation, non-invasive transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation was performed by having the subject wear a vagus stimulator and adjusting the appropriate stimulation intensity.

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation

The vagus nerve's auricular branch is primarily distributed in the tragus, tragus sulcus, and concha cavity. It can activate the nucleus tractus solitarius through the vagus afferent fibers, thereby activating various areas of the vagus nerve in the central nervous system. This stimulation technique involves applying a constant current of around 2-3mA to the epidermal terminals of the ear using an electrode. It aims to regulate the vagus nerve, modulate the autonomic nervous system, release neurotransmitters, improve cerebral blood flow, and alleviate headache symptoms. In the implementation, non-invasive transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation was performed by having the subject wear a vagus stimulator and adjusting the appropriate stimulation intensity.

Intervention Type DEVICE

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

1. Patients with migraine, cluster headache and tension-type headache were diagnosed according to Chinese Guidelines for the diagnosis and Treatment of Migraine (2022 edition) and Chinese Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of cluster headache (2022 edition).
2. Age \>=7 years old, \<=20 years old;
3. Patients have experienced headache on 3-15 days per month in the past;
4. Maintain a stable dose and frequency of medication and do not take new drugs during the course of participating in the trial;
5. They volunteered to participate in the trial and signed informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria

1. History of secondary headache, aneurysm, intracranial hemorrhage, brain tumor, severe head trauma, drug abuse, addiction, syncope, or seizures;
2. prior migraine-preventive surgery, cervical vagotomy, or implantation of an electronic or neurostimulator device;
3. Simultaneous use of other devices (e.g., TENS devices, muscle stimulators);
4. An implantable medical device in use, such as a pacemaker, hearing aid, or any implantable electronic device;
5. underwent head and neck nerve block within the past 2 months;
6. Opioid use (more than 2 days per month); Use of analgesics alone or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (more than 15 days per month); Or tamoxifen, ergots or combination analgesics (more than 10 days per month);
7. Patients who underwent cervical vagotomy (cervical vagotomy);
8. Pediatric patients (under 6 years old); Pregnant women;
9. Patients with clinically significant hypertension, hypotension, bradycardia or tachycardia;
10. Patients with congenital heart disease;
11. Mental/cognitive disorders, etc.
Minimum Eligible Age

7 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

20 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

BrainClos Company, LTD.

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role collaborator

Zhuhai Fudan Innovation Institute

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role collaborator

Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Ji Ya-Bin, post-doc

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University

Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

China

Central Contacts

Reach out to these primary contacts for questions about participation or study logistics.

Xiao XueZhen, PhD

Role: CONTACT

+8613425122570

Ji Ya-Bin, post-doc

Role: CONTACT

+8615913186246

Facility Contacts

Find local site contact details for specific facilities participating in the trial.

Ji Ya-Bin, post-doc

Role: primary

+8615913186246

References

Explore related publications, articles, or registry entries linked to this study.

Martelletti P, Barbanti P, Grazzi L, Pierangeli G, Rainero I, Geppetti P, Ambrosini A, Sarchielli P, Tassorelli C, Liebler E, de Tommaso M; PRESTO Study Group. Correction to: Consistent effects of non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) for the acute treatment of migraine: additional findings from the randomized, sham-controlled, double-blind PRESTO trial. J Headache Pain. 2018 Dec 18;19(1):120. doi: 10.1186/s10194-018-0949-9.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 30563446 (View on PubMed)

Diener HC, Goadsby PJ, Ashina M, Al-Karagholi MA, Sinclair A, Mitsikostas D, Magis D, Pozo-Rosich P, Irimia Sieira P, Lainez MJ, Gaul C, Silver N, Hoffmann J, Marin J, Liebler E, Ferrari MD. Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) for the preventive treatment of episodic migraine: The multicentre, double-blind, randomised, sham-controlled PREMIUM trial. Cephalalgia. 2019 Oct;39(12):1475-1487. doi: 10.1177/0333102419876920. Epub 2019 Sep 15.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 31522546 (View on PubMed)

Cao J, Zhang Y, Li H, Yan Z, Liu X, Hou X, Chen W, Hodges S, Kong J, Liu B. Different modulation effects of 1 Hz and 20 Hz transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on the functional connectivity of the periaqueductal gray in patients with migraine. J Transl Med. 2021 Aug 17;19(1):354. doi: 10.1186/s12967-021-03024-9.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 34404427 (View on PubMed)

Lai YH, Huang YC, Huang LT, Chen RM, Chen C. Cervical Noninvasive Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Migraine and Cluster Headache: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Neuromodulation. 2020 Aug;23(6):721-731. doi: 10.1111/ner.13122. Epub 2020 Mar 12.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 32166843 (View on PubMed)

Weng S, Xiao X, Liang S, Xue Y, Yang X, Ji Y. Single-centre, randomised and double-blind clinical trial on the efficacy of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation in preventing and treating primary headache in children and adolescents: a study protocol. BMJ Open. 2025 Mar 12;15(3):e092692. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-092692.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 40074270 (View on PubMed)

Provided Documents

Download supplemental materials such as informed consent forms, study protocols, or participant manuals.

Document Type: Study Protocol, Statistical Analysis Plan, and Informed Consent Form: Study Protocol

View Document

Document Type: Informed Consent Form: Informed Consent Form

View Document

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

NFEC-2024-057

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

More Related Trials

Additional clinical trials that may be relevant based on similarity analysis.

Migraine in Adolescents
NCT05654012 RECRUITING NA