electroCore Inc. is touting a peer-reviewed study in Frontiers in Neurology that demonstrates the efficacy of gammaCore non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) in reducing persistent symptoms of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

“The CDC reports approximately 2.5 million emergency department visits each year in the United States for traumatic brain injury, with 70% to 90% considered mild,” electroCore Chief Medical Officer Peter Staats, M.D., stated. “Until now, treatment has largely been limited to supportive care. These findings highlight an important potential advance—not only for the general population, but also for the U.S. military, where 1% to 2% of service members experience a mild TBI annually.”

The article, “Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation is associated with the reduction in persistent post-concussion symptoms: an observational study,” found that adjunctive use of gammaCore with standard care was associated with significant and clinically meaningful improvements across multiple Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory (NSI) domains.

• The study included 102 patients with persistent symptoms after suffering an mTBI.
• Patients experienced significant reductions in 16 of 22 symptom categories, including post-traumatic headache, dizziness, difficulty concentrating, and depression.
• Approximately 34% of patients reported meaningful improvement in at least half of their persistent symptoms.

Improvements were observed both in patients treated within three months of injury and in those whose symptoms lasted more than a year, suggesting that nVNS may be beneficial regardless of time since injury. No device-related adverse events were reported.

“This is the first relatively large, prospective study showing that non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation in conjunction with standard of care may improve multiple persistent symptoms of traumatic brain injury,” principal investigator and lead study author Michael Ament, M.D., said.

electroCore Inc. is a commercial stage bioelectronic technology company developing non-invasive bioelectronic technologies. The company’s two leading prescription products, gammaCore non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) and Quell neurostimulator, treat chronic pain syndromes through non-invasive neuromodulation technology. Additionally, the company commercializes its handheld, and personal use Truvaga and TAC-STIM nVNS products utilizing bioelectronic technologies to promote general wellness and human performance.