Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) is a newly developed method which intends to overcome the disadvantage of surgical implantation of the stimulation device. The tVNS device is designed to stimulate the auricular branch of the vagus nerve via a bipolar electrode attached to the skin of the left ear conch. A randomized, double-blind controlled trial assessed efficacy and safety over 20 weeks of tVNS (n=39) vs. active control tVNS (n=37) in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. While the mean seizure reduction per 28 days at end of treatment (2.9% reduction from baseline in the control group vs 23.4% in the active group) did not reach statistical significance, there was a significant reduction in seizure frequency (34 %) in patients in the tVNS group at the end of the treatment period (20 weeks). TVNS was well-tolerated. The results justify further trials with longer observation periods and possibly at earlier stages of epilepsy.
