Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Over the Vagus Nerve Promotes Poststroke Dysphagia Recovery: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Sham-Controlled Clinical Trial.
Shaofan Chen, Shuo Xu, Chenfang Liang and 4 others
PMID 40857053WHAT IT FOUND
Adding transcranial direct current stimulation to the vagus nerve to routine swallowing rehab improved swallowing scores more than sham stimulation.
The extra stimulation group had less severe dysphagia and better functional communication after four weeks. This suggests targeting the peripheral nerve may help poststroke recovery.
Key findings
01Patients receiving active vagus nerve stimulation had significantly better primary outcome scores (Fiberoptic Endoscopic Dysphagia Severity Scale) than those receiving sham stimulation after four weeks.
02Active stimulation led to significantly higher scores on swallowing ability and functional communication measures, and lower aspiration scores, compared to the sham group.
03Both groups improved, but the changes within the active stimulation group were significantly greater than those in the control group across all measured outcomes.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study was conducted at a single center with a relatively small sample size (60 analyzed), which limits generalizability. There was no long-term follow-up, so it is unknown if the benefits of the additional stimulation persist after the four-week treatment ends. Therapists delivering the intervention were not blinded, which could introduce bias in how they delivered the concurrent routine swallowing rehabilitation. The study did not include mechanistic imaging or electrophysiological data to confirm how the stimulation affected neural pathways.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The study was funded by Fujian Medical University.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret this as evidence that tDCS alone treats dysphagia. All participants received routine swallowing rehabilitation. The benefit shown is the added effect of the stimulation on top of standard care, not a replacement for it.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →