The acute and chronic effects of VNS stimulation on various on the autonomic nervous, cardiovascular, immune, and metabolic systems will be compared from noninvasive and minimally invasive physiological recordings and blood draws at various time points throughout the study. These interventions and assessments will be performed in individuals 18 years of age and older who are implanted with a VNS device, which consists of patients who have been diagnosed with drug resistant epilepsy or major depressive disorder. The REVEAL study is not a treatment study; its primary objective is to scientifically investigate the contributing roles of efferent versus afferent vagus nerve modulation of multiple peripheral organs and their dependence on stimulation parameters, in which participants are those who have been implanted with a VNS device be receive standard of care treatment for their epilepsy or depressive disorder.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
144
Duty cycle: At Visit 1, while the frequencies are being changed over Period 1, 2, and 3, duty cycle will be held constant at the participant's randomly assigned first duty cycle setting. At Visit 2, duty cycle will be held constant at the participant's randomly assigned second duty cycle setting. At Visit 2 the participant will receive whichever duty cycle they were not randomly assigned at Visit 1. Therefore, by completing the combination of three frequencies at two duty cycles, each participant will have received all six possible VNS parameter combinations over the two study visits. Chronic period: The VNS setting for the Chronic Period in between Visit 1 and Visit 2 will be the same settings as tested during Visit 1 Period 3. Since Visit 1 Period 3 settings were already randomly assigned to each participant, another randomization for the chronic period is not needed.
Stanford University
Stanford, California, United States
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Washington University in St. Louis
St Louis, Missouri, United States
Alivation Research, LLC
Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina, United States
Alfred Health
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
99 Commercial Road
Prahan, Victoria, Australia
Change in Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Burst Incidence with Vagus nerve stimulation
Changes in muscle sympathetic nerve activity burst incidence (bursts/100 heart beats) measured using microneurography of the fibular nerve in response to various vagus nerve stimulation parameters delivered acutely before and after 12 weeks of chronic vagus nerve stimulation.
Time frame: baseline and 12 weeks
Change in Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Burst Frequency with Vagus nerve stimulation
Changes in muscle sympathetic nerve activity burst frequency (bursts/min) measured using microneurography of the fibular nerve in response to various vagus nerve stimulation parameters delivered acutely before and after 12 weeks of chronic vagus nerve stimulation.
Time frame: baseline and 12 weeks
Change in Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Burst Area with Vagus nerve stimulation
Changes in muscle sympathetic nerve activity burst area (arbitrary units/min) measured using microneurography of the fibular nerve in response to various vagus nerve stimulation parameters delivered acutely before and after 12 weeks of chronic vagus nerve stimulation
Time frame: baseline and 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on Isometric Hand Grip-mediated changes in Heart Rate
The effect Vagus nerve stimulation has on changes in heart rate (bpm) elicited by the isometric hand grip exercise, measured using electrocardiography
Time frame: baseline and 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on Isometric Hand Grip-mediated changes in Blood pressure
The effect Vagus nerve stimulation has on changes in systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressure (mmHg) elicited by the isometric hand grip exercise, measured using finger cuff.
Time frame: baseline and 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on Isometric Hand Grip-mediated changes in Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity (MSNA)
The effect Vagus nerve stimulation has on changes in muscle sympathetic nerve activity elicited by the isometric hand grip exercise, measured using microneurography of the fibular nerve
Time frame: baseline and 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on Post-exercise circulatory occlusion-mediated change in Heart Rate
The effect Vagus nerve stimulation has on changes in heart rate (bpm) elicited by post-exercise circulatory occlusion following the isometric hand grip exercise, measured using electrocardiography.
Time frame: baseline and 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on Post-exercise circulatory occlusion-mediated change in Blood pressure
The effect Vagus nerve stimulation has on changes in systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressure (mmHg) elicited by the post-exercise circulatory occlusion following the isometric hand grip exercise, measured using finger cuff
Time frame: baseline and 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on Post-exercise circulatory occlusion-mediated change in Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity (MSNA)
The effect Vagus nerve stimulation has on changes in muscle sympathetic nerve activity elicited by the post-exercise circulatory occlusion following the isometric hand grip exercise, measured using microneurography of the fibular nerve.
Time frame: baseline and 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on Head up tilt test-mediated change in Heart Rate
The effect Vagus nerve stimulation has on changes in heart rate (bpm) elicited by a passive head-up tilt test, measured using electrocardiography
Time frame: baseline and 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on Head up tilt test-mediated change in Blood pressure
The effect Vagus nerve stimulation has on changes in systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressure (mmHg) elicited by a passive head-up tilt test, measured using finger cuff.
Time frame: baseline and 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on Head up tilt test-mediated change in Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity (MSNA)
The effect Vagus nerve stimulation has on changes in muscle sympathetic nerve activity elicited by a passive head-up tilt test, measured using microneurography of the fibular nerve
Time frame: baseline and 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on cardiac dimensions
The effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on standard measurements of cardiac dimensions (cm, mL) measured using echocardiography
Time frame: baseline and 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on cardiac ejection fraction
The effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on standard measurements of cardiac ejection fraction (%) measured using echocardiography.
Time frame: baseline and 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on cardiac blood flow
The effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on standard measurements of cardiac blood flow (cm/sec) measured using echocardiography and Doppler.
Time frame: baseline and 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on ambulatory systolic blood pressure
The effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on ambulatory systolic blood pressure (mmHg) measured using an ambulatory blood pressure monitor at-home over a 24-hour period.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on ambulatory diastolic blood pressure
The effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on ambulatory diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) measured using an ambulatory blood pressure monitor at-home over a 24-hour period.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on ambulatory heart rate
The effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on ambulatory heart rate (bpm) measured using an ambulatory electrocardiography device at-home over a 24-hour period
Time frame: 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on ambulatory heart rate while in sinus rhythm
The effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on ambulatory heart rate while in sinus rhythm (bpm) measured using an ambulatory electrocardiography device at-home over a 24-hour period.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on supraventricular ectopy episodes
The effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on supraventricular ectopy episodes (count) measured using an ambulatory electrocardiography device at-home over a 24-hour period.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on ventricular ectopy episodes
The effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on ventricular ectopy episodes (count) measured using an ambulatory electrocardiography device at-home over a 24-hour period.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on number of supraventricular tachycardia episodes
The effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on the number of distinct supraventricular tachycardia episodes (count) measured using an ambulatory electrocardiography device at-home over a 24-hour period.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on duration of supraventricular tachycardia episodes
The effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on the duration of supraventricular tachycardia episodes (min) measured using an ambulatory electrocardiography device at-home over a 24-hour period.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on heart rate during supraventricular tachycardia episodes
The effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on heart rate during supraventricular tachycardia episodes (bpm) measured using an ambulatory electrocardiography device at-home over a 24-hour period.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on number of ventricular tachycardia episodes
The effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on the number of distinct ventricular tachycardia episodes (count) measured using an ambulatory electrocardiography device at-home over a 24-hour period.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on duration of ventricular tachycardia episodes
The effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on the duration of ventricular tachycardia episodes (min) measured using an ambulatory electrocardiography device at-home over a 24-hour period.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on heart rate during ventricular tachycardia episodes
The effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on heart rate during ventricular tachycardia episodes (bpm) measured using an ambulatory electrocardiography device at-home over a 24-hour period.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on number of atrial fibrillation episodes
The effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on the number of atrial fibrillation episodes (count) measured using an ambulatory electrocardiography device at-home over a 24-hour period
Time frame: 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on heart rate during atrial fibrillation episodes
The effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on heart rate during atrial fibrillation episodes (bpm) measured using an ambulatory electrocardiography device at-home over a 24-hour period.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on duration atrial fibrillation episodes
The effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on duration of atrial fibrillation episodes (minutes) measured using an ambulatory electrocardiography device at-home over a 24-hour period.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on number of atrial flutter episodes
The effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on the number of atrial flutter episodes (count) measured using an ambulatory electrocardiography device at-home over a 24-hour period.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on heart rate during atrial flutter episodes
The effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on heart rate during atrial flutter episodes (bpm) measured using an ambulatory electrocardiography device at-home over a 24-hour period
Time frame: 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on duration of atrial flutter episodes
The effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on the duration of atrial flutter episodes (minutes) measured using an ambulatory electrocardiography device at-home over a 24-hour period.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on 2nd degree AV block, Mobitz II
The effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on 2nd degree AV block, Mobitz II occurrence, measured using an ambulatory electrocardiography device at-home over a 24-hour period.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on changes in inflammatory/autoimmune biomarkers
Evaluate the change in inflammatory/autoimmune biomarkers before, during, and after 12 weeks of chronic Vagus nerve stimulation using ELISA and CyTOF
Time frame: 12 weeks
Effect of Vagus nerve stimulation on changes in metabolites
Evaluate the change in metabolites before, during, and after 12 weeks of chronic Vagus nerve stimulation using Biocrates MxP Quant 500
Time frame: 12 weeks
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