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NCT06985628: PNEURO
Alleviating Dyspnea With Non-Invasive Neuromodulation
NA trial testing Transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation (tVNS) in Dyspnea in 8 participants. Completed in 10 December 2025.
10 December 2025
Quick facts
| Lead sponsor | Université de Sherbrooke |
|---|---|
| Phase | NA |
| Status | Completed |
| Study type | INTERVENTIONAL |
| Allocation | randomized |
| Design | crossover |
| Masking | single |
| Primary purpose | treatment |
| Enrollment | 8 |
| Start date | 18 November 2024 |
| Primary completion | 10 December 2025 |
| Estimated completion | 10 December 2025 |
| Sites | 1 location across Canada |
Drugs / interventions tested
- Transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation (tVNS)
- Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)
Conditions studied
- Dyspnea — all drugs for Dyspnea →
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Severe — all drugs for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Severe →
Sponsor
Université de Sherbrooke — full company profile →
Who can join
Adults 40 to 85, any sex, with Dyspnea or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Severe. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.
Sponsor's own description
The goal of this feasibility sham-controlled randomized trial is to assess the feasibility of studying non-invasive neuromodulation techniques, specifically transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation (tVNS) and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) of the trigeminal nerve to alleviate dyspnea in patients with chronic pulmonary disease. The main question it aims to answer is: Despite challenges in dyspnea generation and measurement, could non-invasive neuromodulation be reliably studied in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with severe dyspnea? Researchers will compare tVNS and trigeminal TENS to a sham (where the device is applied, but without stimulation) in order to see if non-invasive neuromodulation could relieve dyspnea. At the time of rehabilitation pre-assessment, participants routinely undergo a baseline maximal Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET) on ergocycle to measure VO2max with repetitive assessments of the Borg scale and continuous monitoring of vital signs (oxygen saturation, heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate) throughout the test. Spirometry and symptom questionnaires (CAT score) are also routinely measured. In two dedicated study visits conducted 2 weeks apart from each other, n=8 participants will perform a submaximal constant workrate (CRW) at 80% workload of the VO2 max, either with cervical tVNS (n=4) or trigeminal TENS (n=4). In a cross-over design, both patient groups will undergo sham and active treatment of the neuromodulation technique in a randomly assigned number.
Publications & conference data
1 peer-reviewed publication reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):
-
Non-invasive neuromodulation for alleviating dyspnoea: protocol for a feasibility sham-controlled randomised trial.
St-Pierre J, Mailhot-Larouche S, Garand G, Vézina FA, et al · · 2025 · PMID 40701604 · DOI 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-103891
Verify or expand the search:
- PubMed search for NCT06985628
- Europe PMC full search
- ASCO Meeting Library
- ESMO Meeting Library
- bioRxiv preprints
- medRxiv preprints
- Google Scholar
Related trials
Other trials of Transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation (tVNS)
Trials testing the same drug.
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- NCT04632134 — Long-term Effects of Transcutaneous Vagal Nerve Stimulation on Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) · NA · unknown
Other recruiting trials for Dyspnea
Currently open trials in the same condition.
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- NCT07104578 — Evaluation of the Impact of Pleuropulmonary Ultrasound on the Diagnosis of Dyspnea · recruiting
- NCT07268859 — Effect of Fan Application in Preventing Ticagrelor-Associated Dyspnea · NA · recruiting
- NCT06556797 — Proof-of-concept Study on Dyspnea Analysis Via GapCO2 · recruiting
Other Université de Sherbrooke trials
Trials by the same sponsor.
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Verify against primary sources
- ClinicalTrials.gov — authoritative US registry record
- WHO ICTRP — international registry index
- EU Clinical Trials Register
- Sponsor press releases (Google)
- Trial protocol + status: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06985628 (US National Library of Medicine, public domain)
- Publications: Europe PMC API search by NCT ID, retrieved 10 June 2026
- Drug + disease cross-links: matched in real time against Drug Landscape's normalised drug + company + condition tables
- Sponsor: as reported to ClinicalTrials.gov by Université de Sherbrooke
- Last refreshed: 24 February 2026
Drug Landscape aggregates and links these public records for informational use only. Always verify against the primary source before clinical or regulatory decisions. Canonical URL: https://druglandscape.com/trial/NCT06985628.
Primary sources · FDA · ClinicalTrials.gov · EMA · SEC EDGAR · ChEMBL · Wikidata · full sourcing