Transcutaneous Cervical Vagal Nerve Stimulation in Patients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): A Pilot Study of Effects on PTSD Symptoms and Interleukin-6 Response to Stress.

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a highly disabling condition associated with alterations in multiple neurobiological systems, including increases in inflammatory and sympathetic function, responsible for maintenance of symptoms. Treatment options including medications and psychotherapies have limitations. We previously showed that transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation (tcVNS) blocks inflammatory (interleukin (IL)-6) responses to stress in PTSD.

Transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation blocks stress-induced activation of Interleukin-6 and interferon-γ in posttraumatic stress disorder: A double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled trial.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a highly disabling condition associated with alterations in multiple neurobiological systems, including increases in inflammatory function. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) decreases inflammation, however few studies have examined the effects of non-invasive VNS on physiology in human subjects, and no studies in patients with PTSD. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of transcutaneous cervical VNS (tcVNS) on inflammatory responses to stress.

Sex differences in the inflammatory response to stress and risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes among patients with coronary heart disease.

Stress may contribute to progression of coronary heart disease (CHD) through inflammation, especially among women. Thus, we sought to examine whether increased inflammatory response to stress among patients with CHD is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular events and whether this risk is higher in women. We examined inflammatory biomarkers known to increase with mental stress (speech task), including interleukin-6 (IL-6), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and matrix metallopeptidase-9 (MMP-9) among 562 patients with stable CHD.