Danny V Lam, Justin Chin, Meagan K Brucker-Hahn, Megan Settell, Ben Romanauski, Nishant Verma, Aniruddha Upadhye, Ashlesha Deshmukh, Aaron Skubal, Yuichiro Nishiyama, Jian Hao, J Luis Lujan, Simeng Zhang, Bruce Knudsen, Stephan Blanz, Scott F Lempka, Kip A Ludwig, Andrew J Shoffstall, Hyun-Joo Park, Erika Ross Ellison, Mingming Zhang, Igor Lavrov
{"title":"The role of spinal cord neuroanatomy and the variances of epidurally evoked spinal responses.","authors":"Danny V Lam, Justin Chin, Meagan K Brucker-Hahn, Megan Settell, Ben Romanauski, Nishant Verma, Aniruddha Upadhye, Ashlesha Deshmukh, Aaron Skubal, Yuichiro Nishiyama, Jian Hao, J Luis Lujan, Simeng Zhang, Bruce Knudsen, Stephan Blanz, Scott F Lempka, Kip A Ludwig, Andrew J Shoffstall, Hyun-Joo Park, Erika Ross Ellison, Mingming Zhang, Igor Lavrov","doi":"10.1186/s42234-024-00149-2","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s42234-024-00149-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has demonstrated multiple benefits in treating chronic pain and other clinical disorders related to sensorimotor dysfunctions. However, the underlying mechanisms are still not fully understood, including how electrode placement in relation to the spinal cord neuroanatomy influences epidural spinal recordings (ESRs). To characterize this relationship, this study utilized stimulation applied at various anatomical sections of the spinal column, including at levels of the intervertebral disc and regions correlating to the dorsal root entry zone.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Two electrode arrays were surgically implanted into the dorsal epidural space of the swine. The stimulation leads were positioned such that the caudal-most electrode contact was at the level of a thoracic intervertebral segment. Intraoperative cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images were utilized to precisely determine the location of the epidural leads relative to the spinal column. High-resolution microCT imaging and 3D-model reconstructions of the explanted spinal cord illustrated precise positioning and dimensions of the epidural leads in relation to the surrounding neuroanatomy, including the spinal rootlets of the dorsal and ventral columns of the spinal cord. In a separate swine cohort, implanted epidural leads were used for SCS and recording evoked ESRs.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Reconstructed 3D-models of the swine spinal cord with epidural lead implants demonstrated considerable distinctions in the dimensions of a single electrode contact on a standard industry epidural stimulation lead compared to dorsal rootlets at the dorsal root entry zone (DREZ). At the intervertebral segment, it was observed that a single electrode contact may cover 20-25% of the DREZ if positioned laterally. Electrode contacts were estimated to be ~0.75 mm from the margins of the DREZ when placed at the midline. Furthermore, ventral rootlets were observed to travel in proximity and parallel to dorsal rootlets at this level prior to separation into their respective sides of the spinal cord. Cathodic stimulation at the level of the intervertebral disc, compared to an 'off-disc' stimulation (7 mm rostral), demonstrated considerable variations in the features of recorded ESRs, such as amplitude and shape, and evoked unintended motor activation at lower stimulation thresholds. This substantial change may be due to the influence of nearby ventral roots. To further illustrate the influence of rootlet activation vs. dorsal column activation, the stimulation lead was displaced laterally at ~2.88 mm from the midline, resulting in variances in both evoked compound action potential (ECAP) components and electromyography (EMG) components in ESRs at lower stimulation thresholds.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The results of this study suggest that the ECAP and EMG components of recorded ESRs can vary depending on small differences in ","PeriodicalId":72363,"journal":{"name":"Bioelectronic medicine","volume":"10 1","pages":"17"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11253499/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141636036","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fangqi Liu, Maryam Habibollahi, Yu Wu, Nazanin Neshatvar, Jiaxing Zhang, Ciro Zinno, Outman Akouissi, Fabio Bernini, Lisa Alibrandi, Khatia Gabisonia, Vincenzo Lionetti, Jacopo Carpaneto, Henry Lancashire, Dai Jiang, Silvestro Micera, Andreas Demosthenous
{"title":"A multi-channel stimulator with an active electrode array implant for vagal-cardiac neuromodulation studies.","authors":"Fangqi Liu, Maryam Habibollahi, Yu Wu, Nazanin Neshatvar, Jiaxing Zhang, Ciro Zinno, Outman Akouissi, Fabio Bernini, Lisa Alibrandi, Khatia Gabisonia, Vincenzo Lionetti, Jacopo Carpaneto, Henry Lancashire, Dai Jiang, Silvestro Micera, Andreas Demosthenous","doi":"10.1186/s42234-024-00148-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s42234-024-00148-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Implantable vagus nerve stimulation is a promising approach for restoring autonomic cardiovascular functions after heart transplantation. For successful treatment a system should have multiple electrodes to deliver precise stimulation and complex neuromodulation patterns.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This paper presents an implantable multi-channel stimulation system for vagal-cardiac neuromodulation studies in swine species. The system comprises an active electrode array implant percutaneously connected to an external wearable controller. The active electrode array implant has an integrated stimulator ASIC mounted on a ceramic substrate connected to an intraneural electrode array via micro-rivet bonding. The implant is silicone encapsulated for biocompatibility and implanted lifetime. The stimulation parameters are remotely transmitted via a Bluetooth telemetry link.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The size of the encapsulated active electrode array implant is 8 mm × 10 mm × 3 mm. The stimulator ASIC has 10-bit current amplitude resolution and 16 independent output channels, each capable of delivering up to 550 µA stimulus current and a maximum voltage of 20 V. The active electrode array implant was subjected to in vitro accelerated lifetime testing at 70 °C for 7 days with no degradation in performance. After over 2 h continuous stimulation, the surface temperature change of the implant was less than 0.5 °C. In addition, in vivo testing on the sciatic nerve of a male Göttingen minipig demonstrated that the implant could effectively elicit an EMG response that grew progressively stronger on increasing the amplitude of the stimulation.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The multi-channel stimulator is suitable for long term implantation. It shows potential as a useful tool in vagal-cardiac neuromodulation studies in animal models for restoring autonomic cardiovascular functions after heart transplantation.</p>","PeriodicalId":72363,"journal":{"name":"Bioelectronic medicine","volume":"10 1","pages":"16"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11227238/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141539031","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Antonin Berthon, Lorenz Wernisch, Myrta Stoukidi, Michael Thornton, Olivier Tessier-Lariviere, Pascal Fortier-Poisson, Jorin Mamen, Max Pinkney, Susannah Lee, Elvijs Sarkans, Luca Annecchino, Ben Appleton, Philip Garsed, Bret Patterson, Samuel Gonshaw, Matjaz Jakopec, Sudhakaran Shunmugam, Tristan Edwards, Aleksi Tukiainen, Joel Jennings, Guillaume Lajoie, Emil Hewage, Oliver Armitage
{"title":"Using neural biomarkers to personalize dosing of vagus nerve stimulation.","authors":"Antonin Berthon, Lorenz Wernisch, Myrta Stoukidi, Michael Thornton, Olivier Tessier-Lariviere, Pascal Fortier-Poisson, Jorin Mamen, Max Pinkney, Susannah Lee, Elvijs Sarkans, Luca Annecchino, Ben Appleton, Philip Garsed, Bret Patterson, Samuel Gonshaw, Matjaz Jakopec, Sudhakaran Shunmugam, Tristan Edwards, Aleksi Tukiainen, Joel Jennings, Guillaume Lajoie, Emil Hewage, Oliver Armitage","doi":"10.1186/s42234-024-00147-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s42234-024-00147-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an established therapy for treating a variety of chronic diseases, such as epilepsy, depression, obesity, and for stroke rehabilitation. However, lack of precision and side-effects have hindered its efficacy and extension to new conditions. Achieving a better understanding of the relationship between VNS parameters and neural and physiological responses is therefore necessary to enable the design of personalized dosing procedures and improve precision and efficacy of VNS therapies.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We used biomarkers from recorded evoked fiber activity and short-term physiological responses (throat muscle, cardiac and respiratory activity) to understand the response to a wide range of VNS parameters in anaesthetised pigs. Using signal processing, Gaussian processes (GP) and parametric regression models we analyse the relationship between VNS parameters and neural and physiological responses.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Firstly, we illustrate how considering multiple stimulation parameters in VNS dosing can improve the efficacy and precision of VNS therapies. Secondly, we describe the relationship between different VNS parameters and the evoked fiber activity and show how spatially selective electrodes can be used to improve fiber recruitment. Thirdly, we provide a detailed exploration of the relationship between the activations of neural fiber types and different physiological effects. Finally, based on these results, we discuss how recordings of evoked fiber activity can help design VNS dosing procedures that optimize short-term physiological effects safely and efficiently.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Understanding of evoked fiber activity during VNS provide powerful biomarkers that could improve the precision, safety and efficacy of VNS therapies.</p>","PeriodicalId":72363,"journal":{"name":"Bioelectronic medicine","volume":"10 1","pages":"15"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11181600/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141332627","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hosein Hoseini-Yazdi, Scott A Read, Michael J Collins, Hamed Bahmani, Jens Ellrich, Tim Schilling
{"title":"Increase in choroidal thickness after blue light stimulation of the blind spot in young adults.","authors":"Hosein Hoseini-Yazdi, Scott A Read, Michael J Collins, Hamed Bahmani, Jens Ellrich, Tim Schilling","doi":"10.1186/s42234-024-00146-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s42234-024-00146-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Blue light activates melanopsin, a photopigment that is expressed in intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs). The axons of ipRGCs converge on the optic disc, which corresponds to the physiological blind spot in the visual field. Thus, a blue light stimulus aligned with the blind spot captures the ipRGCs axons at the optic disc. This study examined the potential changes in choroidal thickness and axial length associated with blue light stimulation of melanopsin-expressing ipRGCs at the blind spot. It was hypothesized that blue light stimulation at the blind spot in adults increases choroidal thickness.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The blind spots of both eyes of 10 emmetropes and 10 myopes, with a mean age of 28 ± 6 years (SD), were stimulated locally for 1-minute with blue flickering light with a 460 nm peak wavelength. Measurements of choroidal thickness and axial length were collected from the left eye before stimulation and over a 60-minute poststimulation period. At a similar time of day, choroidal thickness and axial length were measured under sham control condition in all participants, while a subset of 3 emmetropes and 3 myopes were measured after 1-minute of red flickering light stimulation of the blind spot with a peak wavelength of 620 nm. Linear mixed model analyses were performed to examine the light-induced changes in choroidal thickness and axial length over time and between refractive groups.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Compared with sham control (2 ± 1 μm, n = 20) and red light (-1 ± 2 μm, n = 6) stimulation, subfoveal choroidal thickness increased within 60 min after blue light stimulation of the blind spot (7 ± 1 μm, n = 20; main effect of light, p < 0.001). Significant choroidal thickening after blue light stimulation occurred in emmetropes (10 ± 2 μm, p < 0.001) but not in myopes (4 ± 2 μm, p > 0.05). Choroidal thickening after blue light stimulation was greater in the fovea, diminishing in the parafoveal and perifoveal regions. There was no significant main effect of light, or light by refractive error interaction on the axial length after blind spot stimulation.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These findings demonstrate that stimulating melanopsin-expressing axons of ipRGCs at the blind spot with blue light increases choroidal thickness in young adults. This has potential implications for regulating eye growth.</p>","PeriodicalId":72363,"journal":{"name":"Bioelectronic medicine","volume":"10 1","pages":"13"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11145801/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141201343","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Aisling Tynan, Téa Tsaava, Manojkumar Gunasekaran, Carlos E Bravo Iñiguez, Michael Brines, Sangeeta S Chavan, Kevin J Tracey
{"title":"TRPV1 nociceptors are required to optimize antigen-specific primary antibody responses to novel antigens.","authors":"Aisling Tynan, Téa Tsaava, Manojkumar Gunasekaran, Carlos E Bravo Iñiguez, Michael Brines, Sangeeta S Chavan, Kevin J Tracey","doi":"10.1186/s42234-024-00145-6","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s42234-024-00145-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Key to the advancement of the field of bioelectronic medicine is the identification of novel pathways of neural regulation of immune function. Sensory neurons (termed nociceptors) recognize harmful stimuli and initiate a protective response by eliciting pain and defensive behavior. Nociceptors also interact with immune cells to regulate host defense and inflammatory responses. However, it is still unclear whether nociceptors participate in regulating primary IgG antibody responses to novel antigens.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>To understand the role of transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1)-expressing neurons in IgG responses, we generated TRPV1-Cre/Rosa-ChannelRhodopsin2 mice for precise optogenetic activation of TRPV1 + neurons and TRPV1-Cre/Lox-diphtheria toxin A mice for targeted ablation of TRPV1-expressing neurons. Antigen-specific antibody responses were longitudinally monitored for 28 days.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Here we show that TRPV1 expressing neurons are required to develop an antigen-specific immune response. We demonstrate that selective optogenetic stimulation of TRPV1<sup>+</sup> nociceptors during immunization significantly enhances primary IgG antibody responses to novel antigens. Further, mice rendered deficient in TRPV1- expressing nociceptors fail to develop primary IgG antibody responses to keyhole limpet hemocyanin or haptenated antigen.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This functional and genetic evidence indicates a critical role for nociceptor TRPV1 in antigen-specific primary antibody responses to novel antigens. These results also support consideration of potential therapeutic manipulation of nociceptor pathways using bioelectronic devices to enhance immune responses to foreign antigens.</p>","PeriodicalId":72363,"journal":{"name":"Bioelectronic medicine","volume":"10 1","pages":"14"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11134756/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141163020","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gerson N Moreno Romero, Avery R Twyman, Maria F Bandres, Jacob Graves McPherson
{"title":"Unintentionally intentional: unintended effects of spinal stimulation as a platform for multi-modal neurorehabilitation after spinal cord injury.","authors":"Gerson N Moreno Romero, Avery R Twyman, Maria F Bandres, Jacob Graves McPherson","doi":"10.1186/s42234-024-00144-7","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s42234-024-00144-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Electrical stimulation of spinal neurons has emerged as a valuable tool to enhance rehabilitation after spinal cord injury. In separate parameterizations, it has shown promise for improving voluntary movement, reducing symptoms of autonomic dysreflexia, improving functions mediated by muscles of the pelvic floor (e.g., bowel, bladder, and sexual function), reducing spasms and spasticity, and decreasing neuropathic pain, among others. This diverse set of actions is related both to the density of sensorimotor neural networks in the spinal cord and to the intrinsic ability of electrical stimulation to modulate neural transmission in multiple spinal networks simultaneously. It also suggests that certain spinal stimulation parameterizations may be capable of providing multi-modal therapeutic benefits, which would directly address the complex, multi-faceted rehabilitation goals of people living with spinal cord injury. This review is intended to identify and characterize reports of spinal stimulation-based therapies specifically designed to provide multi-modal benefits and those that report relevant unintended effects of spinal stimulation paradigms parameterized to enhance a single consequence of spinal cord injury.</p>","PeriodicalId":72363,"journal":{"name":"Bioelectronic medicine","volume":"10 1","pages":"12"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11094943/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140923709","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Evaluation of the EMulate Therapeutics Voyager’s ultra-low radiofrequency energy in murine model of glioblastoma","authors":"Rajesh Mukthavaram, Pengfei Jiang, Sandra Pastorino, Natsuko Nomura, Feng Lin, Santosh Kesari","doi":"10.1186/s42234-024-00143-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42234-024-00143-8","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":72363,"journal":{"name":"Bioelectronic medicine","volume":"583 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140718951","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A novel neuroimmune modulation system for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis","authors":"B. Bonaz","doi":"10.1186/s42234-024-00142-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42234-024-00142-9","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":72363,"journal":{"name":"Bioelectronic medicine","volume":"111 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140750415","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Daniel Peterson, Mark Van Poppel, Warren Boling, Perry Santos, Jason Schwalb, Howard Eisenberg, Ashesh Mehta, Heather Spader, James Botros, Frank D Vrionis, Andrew Ko, P David Adelson, Bradley Lega, Peter Konrad, Guillermo Calle, Fernando L Vale, Richard Bucholz, R Mark Richardson
{"title":"Clinical safety and feasibility of a novel implantable neuroimmune modulation device for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: initial results from the randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled RESET-RA study.","authors":"Daniel Peterson, Mark Van Poppel, Warren Boling, Perry Santos, Jason Schwalb, Howard Eisenberg, Ashesh Mehta, Heather Spader, James Botros, Frank D Vrionis, Andrew Ko, P David Adelson, Bradley Lega, Peter Konrad, Guillermo Calle, Fernando L Vale, Richard Bucholz, R Mark Richardson","doi":"10.1186/s42234-023-00138-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s42234-023-00138-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease that causes persistent synovitis, bone damage, and progressive joint destruction. Neuroimmune modulation through electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve activates the inflammatory reflex and has been shown to inhibit the production and release of inflammatory cytokines and decrease clinical signs and symptoms in RA. The RESET-RA study was designed to determine the safety and efficacy of an active implantable device for treating RA.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The RESET-RA study is a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled, multi-center, two-stage pivotal trial that enrolled patients with moderate-to-severe RA who were incomplete responders or intolerant to at least one biologic or targeted synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug. A neuroimmune modulation device (SetPoint Medical, Valencia, CA) was implanted on the left cervical vagus nerve within the carotid sheath in all patients. Following post-surgical clearance, patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to active stimulation or non-active (control) stimulation for 1 min once per day. A predefined blinded interim analysis was performed in patients enrolled in the study's initial stage (Stage 1) that included demographics, enrollment rates, device implantation rates, and safety of the surgical procedure, device, and stimulation over 12 weeks of treatment.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Sixty patients were implanted during Stage 1 of the study. All device implant procedures were completed without intraoperative complications, infections, or surgical revisions. No unanticipated adverse events were reported during the perioperative period and at the end of 12 weeks of follow-up. No study discontinuations were due to adverse events, and no serious adverse events were related to the device or stimulation. Two serious adverse events were related to the implantation procedure: vocal cord paresis and prolonged hoarseness. These were reported in two patients and are known complications of surgical implantation procedures with vagus nerve stimulation devices. The adverse event of vocal cord paresis resolved after vocal cord augmentation injections with filler and speech therapy. The prolonged hoarseness had improved with speech therapy, but mild hoarseness persists.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The surgical procedures for implantation of the novel neuroimmune modulation device for the treatment of RA were safe, and the device and its use were well tolerated.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>NCT04539964; August 31, 2020.</p>","PeriodicalId":72363,"journal":{"name":"Bioelectronic medicine","volume":"10 1","pages":"8"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10935935/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140112320","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}