Augmenting Standard-of-care Treatment of Plaque Psoriasis by Neuromodulation
Status unconfirmed · Not applicable · Has a placebo group
Conditions studied: Psoriasis Vulgaris
In brief
The human body responds to inflammation, such as psoriatic skin lesions, by activating the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway. In patients with plaque psoriasis, this pathway is not sufficient to clear the skin lesions. Importantly, the vagus nerve, that is part of the anti-inflammatory pathway, also innervates the ear where it can be activated through non-invasive transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS). This raises the research question if taVNS - added to standard of care - improves the symptoms of plaque psoriasis by augmenting the function of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway. Thus, the aim of this project is to test the hypothesis that daily taVNS applied for 3 months results in anti-inflammatory actions and improvements in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI). Potential anti-inflammatory actions of taVNS compared to a sham-taVNS control group will be assessed by plasma cytokine levels, flow cytometry, and cell culture experiments. This project is potentially significant, because it may demonstrate that taVNS lessens the symptoms of plaque psoriasis and, therefore, improves the quality of life of millions of patients.
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT05243303
- Run by
- Burrell College of Health Sciences
- People needed
- 50
- Starts
- 2022-04-26
- Expected to finish
- 2026-02-28
- Last updated by the study team
- 2023-07-10
Who can join
Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.
You may qualify if…
- 18 years or older
- Plaque psoriasis diagnosed by a dermatologist
You may not qualify if…
- pregnancy
- vestibulocochlear neuronitis or nerve damage
- cardiac arrhythmia
- epilepsy
- anticipated change in medication during the 3-month study period
Where it is running
- Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine — Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States (enrolling)
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
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