Key result
Non-invasive vagal nerve stimulation shows promise for opioid use disorder by reducing withdrawal symptoms.
Why the study?
Opioid Use Disorder is an escalating public health problem, yet treatment options remain limited.
Does non-invasive vagal nerve stimulation reduce withdrawal symptoms and physiological manifestations in patients with opioid use disorder?
Does non-invasive vagal nerve stimulation reduce withdrawal symptoms and physiological manifestations in patients with opioid use disorder?
Non-invasive vagal nerve stimulation shows promise as a non-pharmacological approach to mitigate sympathetic activation and withdrawal symptoms in patients with opioid use disorder.
May support adjunctive non-pharmacological options for opioid withdrawal; leaves open confirmation in randomized trials.
Background: Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) is an escalating public health problem with over 100,000 drug overdose-related deaths last year most of them related to opioid overdose, yet treatment options remain limited. Non-invasive Vagal Nerve Stimulation (nVNS) can be delivered via the ear or the neck and is a non-medication alternative to treatment of opioid withdrawal and OUD with potentially widespread applications. Methods: This paper reviews the neurobiology of opioid withdrawal and OUD and the emerging literature of nVNS for the application of OUD. Literature databases for Pubmed, Psychinfo, and Medline were queried for these topics for 1982-present. Results: Opioid withdrawal in the context of OUD is associated with activation of peripheral sympathetic and inflammatory systems as well as alterations in central brain regions including anterior cingulate, basal ganglia, and amygdala. NVNS has the potential to reduce sympathetic and inflammatory activation and counter the effects of opioid withdrawal in initial pilot studies. Preliminary studies show that it is potentially effective at acting through sympathetic pathways to reduce the effects of opioid withdrawal, in addition to reducing pain and distress. Conclusions: NVNS shows promise as a non-medication approach to OUD, both in terms of its known effect on neurobiology as well as pilot data showing a reduction in withdrawal symptoms as well as physiological manifestations of opioid withdrawal.
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J. Douglas Bremner (2023) conducted a review in Opioid Use Disorder. Non-invasive Vagal Nerve Stimulation (nVNS) was evaluated. Non-invasive vagal nerve stimulation shows promise as a non-medication approach to opioid use disorder by reducing withdrawal symptoms and physiological manifestations of opioid withdrawal.
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