EC Neurology

The present study is a double-blind and sham-controlled trial on a pediatric population aged between 15 and 17 years with diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The aim of the research is to propose as gold standard of post-traumatic stress disorder treatment, the combination of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with the transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS). 50 patients were enrolled: (26 female, 24 male) randomly divided into control group (50 patients) who performed CBT and tVNS and placebo group (50 patients) who performed CBT and tVNS in sham mode. All subjects underwent pretreatment (T0) and after three months treatment (T3 months) assessments, monitoring the variation of evening salivary cortisol level (ng/mL) and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) score. The results obtained highlighted statistically significant difference between the treatment and the placebo group in terms of reduction of evening cortisol and of the PCL-5 rating scale score. Combined treatment with CBT and TVNs is statistically and clinically more effective: placebo mean change post-pre cortisol ng/mL -0.91; p-value < 0.001 and placebo group mean change post-pre PCL-5 19.46; p-value <0.001. Treatment group mean change post-pre cortisol ng/mL -2.12; p-value < 0.001 and placebo mean change post-pre PCL-5 31.46; p-value < 0.001. The obtained data suggest the indication to treat this patient population with the combined CBT tVNS protocol rather than with BCT alone.

 Keywords: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Cortisol; Adolescents

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