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| How does Vagal Nerve Stimulation reduce epileptic seizures? |
Who can participate?
To be eligible, you must be:
- aged 18–40 years
- currently receiving treatment for epilepsy with an implanted VNS device
- or a healthy participant without epilepsy
What is involved?
This study involves inserting a fine needle (microelectrode) either into (i) the vagus nerve in the neck or (ii) the peroneal nerve at the side of the knee. These procedures are not considered painful and are well-tolerated. You will be invited to participate in session (i) and session (ii) on separate days.
The tests we will be conducting are:
- recording from the vagus nerve in the neck in participants with an implanted VNS device to identify the types of nerve fibres excited by vagal nerve stimulation
- recording from the vagus nerve in the neck to increase our understanding of how different nerve fibres supplying the heart and lungs behave in healthy controls and in epilepsy
- recording muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) from the peroneal nerve at the knee at rest and during standard manoeuvres that affect blood pressure
- electrocardiogram (ECG)
- non-invasive continuous blood pressure recorded from the fingers
- respiration
Why should you get involved?
- You will contribute to ground-breaking new research that will help us understand how epilepsy increases cardiovascular risk and how VNS works
- You will be reimbursed for your time.
- This research project has been approved by the Alfred Hospital Ethics Committee.
To find out more, contact:
- Mikaela Patros
T: 0402 510 559
E: mikaela.patros@baker.edu.au
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