Can External Vagus Nerve Stimulation Reduce Systemic Levels of Inflammatory Mediators in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Patients?

Brief Summary

The intended investigation is a pilot study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a novel transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulator system, termed TRAVAGUS ONE, to reduce systemic levels of inflammatory mediators in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Electrical vagus nerve stimulation is an investigational anti-inflammatory therapy targeting the nervous system to modulate dysregulated inflammation. DMD is a severe genetic disorder characterized by progressive muscle degeneration and weakness due to the alterations of a protein named dystrophin that helps keep muscle cells intact. The disease affects male children, and the symptom onset is in early childhood. In addition to the muscle degeneration all patients suffer from severe systemic inflammation and express increased systemic levels of proinflammatory molecules, which can be quantified in peripheral blood samples. Daily, systemic corticosteroid therapy with high doses is the standard of care in DMD to control symptoms and to slow disease progression through potent anti-inflammatory activity. Unfortunately, high dosage and long-term use of corticosteroids are typically also accompanied by severe adverse effects that reduce the quality of life in DMD patients. There is thus a great need for improved anti-inflammatory treatment with less severe adverse effects. In the planned pilot study involving 20 DMD patients aged 5-17 years, the investigators intend to treat each patient for one week in their home environment using transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) with a novel device named Travagus One to find out whether this intervention is safe and may reduce systemic levels of proinflammatory molecules. Venous blood samples will be collected at three different time points before and after the taVNS treatment period. Note: This study relates to an FDA-nonregulated Device. There are no U.S. Locations for the study. The study was approved by the Swedish Medical Products Agency.