MicroTransponder: Latest News and Research

[Relic Hunter]

Is this vagus-nerve some sort of super wire? What makes them think this will help tinnitus?

I believe NILLS has summed it up well in his post. I have been trying to keep abreast of the progress of this device since it will be tried on about 25 active duty veterans this year. The Veterans Administration is really pushing this because of the huge tinnitus problem within the active military and the almost 3 billion a year in disability and medical costs related to disabled vets with tinnitus.

I really do not see thought what the hold up is. Vagus nerve stimulation is nothing new. It is already approved for the treatment of epilepsy and depression when other drugs have proven not to work.

The electrical device, surgery, etc. would therefore be the same where it be for depression or tinnitus.

I guess things just seem to move more slowly when you happen to be one of those standing in line waiting.

 

[t-man]

It is the superwire of the human body and keeps everything working, it`s like the high-way of information ...

The vagus nerve is either one of two cranial nerves which are extremely long, extending from the brain stem all the way to the viscera. The vagus nerves carry a wide assortment of signals to and from the brain, and they are responsible for a number of instinctive responses in the body. You may also hear the vagus nerve called Cranial Nerve X, as it is the 10th cranial nerve, or the Wandering Nerve. A great deal of research has been carried out on the vagus nerve, as it is a rather fascinating cranial nerve.

Vagus is Latin for "wandering," and it is an accurate description of this nerve, which emerges at the back of the skull and meanders in a leisurely way through the abdomen, with a number of branching nerves coming into contact with the heart, lungs, voicebox, stomach, and ears, among other body parts. The vagus nerve carries incoming information from the nervous system to the brain, providing information about what the body is doing, and it also transmits outgoing information which governs a range of reflex responses.

The vagus nerve helps to regulate the heart beat, control muscle movement, keep a person breathing, and to transmit a variety of chemicals through the body. It is also responsible for keeping the digestive tract in working order, contracting the muscles of the stomach and intestines to help process food, and sending back information about what is being digested and what the body is getting out of it.

This nerve sounds important, indeed. I don't know if I want someone wrapping a metal wire around it.

I wonder why they just didn't tap into the audio nerve it's self. I know that other transponder is doing that.

 

[nills]

I THINK, the auditory nerve is just signaling to the cortex ... and the vagus nerve is mapping the entire brain. So my interpretation is that through the vagus nerve the whole electrical field can be rebalanced while through the auditory nerve it`s more a turn on/off switch of information ... which would be similar to the effect of hearing aids.

but that`s just my way of understanding something complex that i did n`t study in.

 

[yonkapin]

This nerve sounds important, indeed. I don't know if I want someone wrapping a metal wire around it..

Yeah I agree, sounds pretty invasive - don't know if I'd be down for it. But I do hope the treatment is successful and goes mainstream though!

 

[seal]

It is very invasive! There were patient trials for vagus nerve stimulation combined with acoustic stimulation for tinnitus (like they did with the rats) in Regensburg/ Bavaria and they stopped the trial because if of severe cardiac and respiratory problems in the patients..

 

[Erlend]

Do they open up your head?

 

[seal]

Do they open up your head?

no, there are 2 types of vagues nerv stimulation:
1. you'll get some type of implant into your chest that is connected to the vagus nerve ( i think the microtransponder is that kind of device)
2. some kind of ear plug that is connected to a branch of the vagus nerve in the ear, so no implant.

in both cases they don't open your head...

 

[Erlend]

It is very invasive! There were patient trials for vagus nerve stimulation combined with acoustic stimulation for tinnitus (like they did with the rats) in Regensburg/ Bavaria and they stopped the trial because if of severe cardiac and respiratory problems in the patients..

Where did you read about these patients?
Is there a result repport from the first trial somewhere?

 

[seal]

Where did you read about these patients?
Is there a result repport from the first trial somewhere?

http://www.tinnitus.de/showthread.php?3254-Neue-Tinnitus-Studie-bei-Regensburg/page2
You can use the google translator, because it's in german, Blinks message (06.09.2010 11:42) says it.
and the user sweetakay (also page 2) was in the trial, he had stomach problems caused by the vagus nerve stimulation and even mentioned that it made his T louder...

 

[Erlend]

http://www.tinnitus.de/showthread.php?3254-Neue-Tinnitus-Studie-bei-Regensburg/page2
You can use the google translator, because it's in german, Blinks message (06.09.2010 11:42) says it.
and the user sweetakay (also page 2) was in the trial, he had stomach problems caused by the vagus nerve stimulation and even mentioned that it made his T louder...

I see. Doesn't seem like serious stomach problems though judging by the ^^ smiley

I take part in the vagus nerve stimulated ..
the appliance must be 4 hrs a day use but is difficult Krige thereby getting a rumble in the belly ^ ^
let's see what happens mfg

But yeah, doesn't seem safe atm. I want my T to go away but I also want the ability to breathe, it is very important to me.

 

[seal]

I see. Doesn't seem like serious stomach problems though judging by the ^^ smiley



But yeah, doesn't seem safe atm. I want my T to go away but I also want the ability to breathe, it is very important to me.

Probably his side effects werent too bad, but they cancelled it... So i think they were pretty severe in some of the patients, i mean when it comes to heart and breathing problems, it's for sure not safe.

 

[cmurem]

The symptoms stand out as if they indicate autonomic nervous system problems.

 

[Jodi]

"Nov. 21, 2013: UT Dallas researchers have demonstrated that treating tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, using vagus nerve stimulation-tone therapy is safe and brought significant improvement to some of the participants in a small clinical trial."

utdallas.edu/news/2013/11/21-27531_Clinical-Trial-Brings-Positive-Results-for-Tinnitu_story-wide.html?WT.mc_id=NewsHomePage

 

[t-man]

Good. This is one of the few treatments I actually have hope for.

 

[awbw8]

wow - if this is true it look incredible! I'll take a 26 decibel cut in my t volume annnnny day

 

[James White]

well this is good news, let's hope they succeed in all their future trials!

 

[Meestijn]

wow - if this is true it look incredible! I'll take a 26 decibel cut in my t volume annnnny day

minus 26 dB - where can I register?

 

[FourCandles]

"Nov. 21, 2013: UT Dallas researchers have demonstrated that treating tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, using vagus nerve stimulation-tone therapy is safe and brought significant improvement to some of the participants in a small clinical trial."

utdallas.edu/news/2013/11/21-27531_Clinical-Trial-Brings-Positive-Results-for-Tinnitu_story-wide.html?WT.mc_id=NewsHomePage

Five participants, all of whom were on medications for other problems, did not show significant changes. However, the four participants who benefited from the therapy were not using any medications. The report attributes drug interactions as blocking the effects of the VNS-tone therapy.

This is intesting and very positive. It seems similar to something I read on Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) in that those who are on drugs that effect neurotransmitters in the brain, block the natural plasticity of the brain and show no benefit from TRT.

 

[Jodi]

"'In all, four of the ten patients showed relevant decreases on tinnitus questionaires and audiological measures,' Vanneste said. 'The observation that these improvements were stable for more than two months after the end of the one month therapy is encouraging.'"

stonehearthnewsletters.com/new-tinnitus-treatment/tinnitus-2/#sthash.xCDlI0el.dpuf

 

[Jake]

"'In all, four of the ten patients showed relevant decreases on tinnitus questionaires and audiological measures,' Vanneste said. 'The observation that these improvements were stable for more than two months after the end of the one month therapy is encouraging.'"

stonehearthnewsletters.com/new-tinnitus-treatment/tinnitus-2/#sthash.xCDlI0el.dpuf

4 out of 10? ehh...I was hoping for more than that...

 

[Hudson]

4 out of 10? ehh...I was hoping for more than that...

10 people is hardly a statistically significant sample size. The purpose of a Phase 1 trial is to show safety. Any efficacy they can gleam from that is icing on the cake. The Phase 2 trial should have a few more people, but they will probably run several Phase 2 trials to establish efficacy. While this is a cool trial, any approved treatments will not be available for quite a while.

 

[Erlend]

4 out of 10? ehh...I was hoping for more than that...

ye but read the posts above, they indicate that if you make sure not to be on any meds, the odds will be a lot better. or am i misunderstanding here?

 

[erik]

Another article update from today:

UT Dallas researchers have demonstrated that treating tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, using vagus nerve stimulation-tone therapy is safe and brought significant improvement to some of the participants in a small clinical trial.

Drs. Sven Vanneste and Michael Kilgard of the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences used a new method pairing vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) with auditory tones to alleviate the symptoms of chronic tinnitus. Their results were published on Nov. 20 in the journalNeuromodulation: Technology at the Neural Interface.

more: Trial results positive for tinnitus sufferers

 

[Leo1994]

Hmm hope this one works.... i feel so hopeless these days, 9 out of 10 times i only hear about tinnitus reaserach that is about "prevention" ore "actue tinnitus"..
Really hope that this one will work on chronic tinnitus..

 

[t-man]

This is intesting and very positive. It seems similar to something I read on Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) in that those who are on drugs that effect neurotransmitters in the brain, block the natural plasticity of the brain and show no benefit from TRT.

Huh. I use a mild dose of apo-amitriptyline (sleep aide). If that's the case, maybe that had something to do with my noise indued T...

I guess I'd have to dry myself out before I think of doing anything like this.

 

[Leo1994]

Five participants, all of whom were on medications for other problems, did not show significant changes. However, the four participants who benefited from the therapy were not using any medications. The report attributes drug interactions as blocking the effects of the VNS-tone therapy.

This is intesting and very positive. It seems similar to something I read on Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) in that those who are on drugs that effect neurotransmitters in the brain, block the natural plasticity of the brain and show no benefit from TRT.

But, this is this just temporary? Like, if u used a medication that affects neurotransmitters, and if u stop using it for a year, how till this effect the sucess rate of this treatment? Does the neurotransmitter up reglate?

 

[Scubadude]

I usually play with Newsnow for all my newsfeeds however this showed up at the top and thought
you guys may find it interesting?

New tinnitus treatment shows positive results in small trial - Medical News Today

 

[LadyDi]

Hey Scubadude: This one got posted and discussed in a thread under research yesterday, in case you want to read more: MicroTransponder: Latest News and Research | Page 3 | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

Problem is "small" is indeed small: only 10 people participated in the study. Hard to get much evidence from such a small sample. Also interesting was the fact that half received no benefit because, according to the study authors, they were on unspecified medications for unspecified medical conditions. Wonder what the meds were? Were all those so affected on the same medications?

Anyway, I personally have a lot of hope for the electrical stimulation treatment path of tinnitus. So any news is interesting to me. Thanks.

 

[Scubadude]

Thanks LadyDi I'm sure it was on the forums somewhere. Just a rehashed story then I guess.

 

[t-man]

Wonder what the meds were? Were all those so affected on the same medications?

They said they would start testing on military veterans so I assume antidepressants or pain suppressants.