Vagal Nerve Stimulation for Intestinal Barrier Dysfunction in Healthy Volunteers

This is a proof of concept randomised placebo controlled crossover trial to evaluate the effect of transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation on a stress model of increased intestinal permeability in healthy human subjects. Intestinal permeability perturbation is a phenomenon which is being increasingly recognised as a contributing factor to a multitude of diseases - including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). There are currently limited effective treatment methods known to improve this intestinal permeability perturbation and the use of vagal nerve stimulation would present itself as an inexpensive, non-invasive and non-pharmacological method of reversing this dysfunction. Vagal nerve stimulation efficacy in reversing stress related intestinal barrier dysfunction is available from proof of concept animal models. This mechanistic project is an important first step in this field of research and will serve as a basis for further research into the role of vagal nerve stimulation in intestinal barrier dysfunction.