Short- and Long-Term Response of Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy in Drug-Resistant Epilepsy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Mao H, Chen Y, Ge Q, Ye L, Cheng H.

Neuromodulation. 2022 Apr;25(3):327-342.
https://doi.org/10.1111/ner.13509

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Check out this meta-analysis by Mao et al. (Jun. 2021) for examining the short- and long-term effects of vagus nerve stimulation (#VNS) in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (#DRE).   

61 studies with 5223 patients in total met the criteria. Class I evidence from six studies showed that the responder rate of patients receiving high-level stimulation settings was significantly higher than those who used low-level stimulations (95% CI: 1.401-3.435, p=0.001). The overall responder rate was >50%, gradually increasing by the follow-up.

Noteworthy, the study did not include the data relating to auto-stimulation VNS (closed-loop VNS device, 106 AspireSR®). Moreover, the meta-analysis did not consider the effects of patients’ ages, etiologies, types of epilepsy, and pre-VNS durations.