Ear nerve zaps could limit stroke damage, early study hopes
NCT ID NCT07404852
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study is testing whether a gentle electrical stimulation of a nerve in the ear (the vagus nerve) can reduce brain injury and inflammation after a severe stroke. Researchers will measure brain damage markers in the blood of 65 participants over a week. The goal is to see if this safe, non-invasive technique might help the brain heal better when added to standard stroke care.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation (a device that stimulates a nerve in the ear)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a way to reduce brain damage and inflammation after a stroke, potentially improving recovery.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very early pilot study with only 65 people. It is designed to test safety and measure biological markers, not to prove it improves patient outcomes. The treatment may not show any benefit.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 65 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Feb 2026
- Expected to finish
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Feb 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 99 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Adult patients who present with acute ischemic strokes due to large vessel occlusions Exclusion Criteria: * \<18 years old * patients with presumed chronic large vessel occlusions * NIHSS\<6 * pre-morbid modified Rankin score (mRS) \>2 * unable to initiate treatment under 24 hours from symptom discovery * Chronic or acute infection, Recent surgery, active immune disease * life expectancy \<3 months * patients' undergoing active cancer or immunosuppressive/modulating therapy * patients with sustained bradycardia on arrival with a heart rate \<50 beats per minute.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Barnes-Jewish Hospital
RECRUITINGSt Louis, Missouri, 63110, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can a kidney protein drug boost stroke recovery after clot removal?
- Can PET scans reveal hidden heart inflammation after a stroke?
- Can an implanted heart monitor catch hidden irregular heartbeats after stroke?
- China builds national watchdog for brain blood vessel devices
- Cancer patients face a hidden Second-Stroke threat, and 24 hospitals are mapping it
- Can tiny neural exosomes help the brain heal after a severe stroke?