The following is a summary of “Effects of vagus nerve stimulation on cognitive function in patients with epilepsy: a systematic review and meta-analysis,” published in the February 2024 issue of Neurology by Kong et al.
While some studies suggest vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) improves cognitive function in epilepsy patients, its effectiveness remains debated.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to probe the influence of VNS on the cognitive function of epilepsy patients.
They conducted clinical trials, scouring PubMed, The Cochrane Library, and Embase until September 20, 2022. Primary outcomes assessed were cognitive performance, executive function, attention, and memory. Secondary outcomes were seizure frequency, mood, and QOL. Random effects were used for calculating pooled outcomes.
The results showed 20 clinical trials with no change in overall cognitive performance in patients with epilepsy after VNS treatment (Standardized Mean Difference [SMD] = 0.07; 95% CI: -0.12 to 0.26; I-squared [I2] = 0.00%) than pre-treatment. Compared to pre-treatment, no notable change in executive function (SMD = -0.50; 95% CI: -1.50 to 0.50; P=0.32), attention (SMD = -0.17; 95% CI: -0.43 to 0.09; P=0.21), and memory (SMD = 0.64; 95% CI: -0.11 to 1.39; P=0.09). Significant changes in seizure frequency, mood, and QOL in patients with epilepsy after VNS.
Investigators concluded that while this meta-analysis found no significant cognitive improvement from VNS in epilepsy patients, it did show positive effects on seizure frequency, mood, and QoL.
Source: frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2024.1332882/full
