Deans' stroke musings: Analysis of the Outcomes Studied in the Application of Invasive and Non-Invasive Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Clinical and Preclinical Studies Involving Stroke

Changing stroke rehab and research worldwide now.Time is Brain! trillions and trillions of neurons that DIE each day because there are NO effective hyperacute therapies besides tPA(only 12% effective). I have 523 posts on hyperacute therapy, enough for researchers to spend decades proving them out. These are my personal ideas and blog on stroke rehabilitation and stroke research. Do not attempt any of these without checking with your medical provider. Unless you join me in agitating, when you need these therapies they won't be there.

What this blog is for:

My blog is not to help survivors recover, it is to have the 10 million yearly stroke survivors light fires underneath their doctors, stroke hospitals and stroke researchers to get stroke solved. 100% recovery. The stroke medical world is completely failing at that goal, they don't even have it as a goal. Shortly after getting out of the hospital and getting NO information on the process or protocols of stroke rehabilitation and recovery I started searching on the internet and found that no other survivor received useful information. This is an attempt to cover all stroke rehabilitation information that should be readily available to survivors so they can talk with informed knowledge to their medical staff. It lays out what needs to be done to get stroke survivors closer to 100% recovery. It's quite disgusting that this information is not available from every stroke association and doctors group.

Friday, January 16, 2026

Analysis of the Outcomes Studied in the Application of Invasive and Non-Invasive Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Clinical and Preclinical Studies Involving Stroke—A Scoping Review

Research like this is needed because our fucking failures of stroke organizations and incompetent? doctors don't keep up with and implement research!

vagus nerve (60 posts to July 2012)

If your stroke hospital didn't implement vagus nerve stimulation over a decade ago! THEY ARE COMLETELY FUCKING INCOMPETENT!

Analysis of the Outcomes Studied in the Application of Invasive and Non-Invasive Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Clinical and Preclinical Studies Involving Stroke—A Scoping Review

and

Laboratory of Neuroscience and Neurological Rehabilitation, Physical Therapy Department, Federal University of Sao Carlos, Sao Carlos 13565-905, Brazil

Department of Physical Therapy, Federal University of Sao Carlos, Sao Carlos 13565-905, Brazil

Spaulding Neuromodulation Center, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

NeuroSci2026, 7(1), 9;https://doi.org/10.3390/neurosci7010009

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Abstract

Background: Currently, there is a considerable number of studies addressing vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) for the treatment of different stroke-related outcomes. We aimed to promote a broad view of the outcomes studied and what are the opportune outcomes to be studied involving this therapeutic strategy for the treatment of post-stroke complications. Methods: This is a scoping review that followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Two investigators conducted independent searches on PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Embase till July 2025. Randomized clinical trials and preclinical studies using invasive or non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation conducted with a population diagnosed with stroke were included. Results: Forty-one experimental studies and sixteen clinical trials were included. The outcomes found were neuroprotection; motor, functional, and cognitive rehabilitation; dysphagia; comparison of different stimulation intensities; safety, efficacy, and feasibility of the non-invasive approach; comparison between transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) and transcutaneous cervical vagus nerve stimulation (tcVNS); and comparison between two models of ischemia (permanent and transient). Preclinical studies mostly investigated molecular elements involved in neuroprotection, neuroinflammation, and cellular apoptosis, while clinical studies evaluating the effectiveness of this technique used for rehabilitation and its comparison or combination with other techniques remain scarce. Conclusions: Most studies investigating the effects of VNS on different post-stroke outcomes are experimental studies. Clinical studies are still scarce and with limited analysis of outcomes.