Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation reduces blood-brain barrier disruption in a rat model of ischemic stroke.

Background: Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) significantly reduces infarct volume in rat models of cerebral ischemia, but the mechanism of this protective effect remains open.

Hypothesis: This study tested the hypothesis that non-invasive VNS (nVNS), during transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), protects the blood-brain barrier (BBB), leading to reduced infarct size in ischemic brain.

Methods: Spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHRs) were subjected to a 90 min MCAO.