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Transdermal Electrical Neuromodulation for Anxiety and Sleep Problems in High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: Feasibility and Preliminary Findings

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with anxiety and sleep problems. We investigated transdermal electrical neuromodulation (TEN) of the cervical nerves in the neck as a safe, effective, comfortable and non-pharmacological therapy for decreasing anxiety and enhancing sleep quali...

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Autores principales: Foldes, Stephen T., Jensen, Amanda R., Jacobson, Austin, Vassall, Sarah, Foldes, Emily, Guthery, Ann, Brown, Danni, Levine, Todd, Tyler, William James, Frye, Richard E.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8704341/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34945779
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jpm11121307
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author Foldes, Stephen T.
Jensen, Amanda R.
Jacobson, Austin
Vassall, Sarah
Foldes, Emily
Guthery, Ann
Brown, Danni
Levine, Todd
Tyler, William James
Frye, Richard E.
author_facet Foldes, Stephen T.
Jensen, Amanda R.
Jacobson, Austin
Vassall, Sarah
Foldes, Emily
Guthery, Ann
Brown, Danni
Levine, Todd
Tyler, William James
Frye, Richard E.
author_sort Foldes, Stephen T.
collection PubMed
description Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with anxiety and sleep problems. We investigated transdermal electrical neuromodulation (TEN) of the cervical nerves in the neck as a safe, effective, comfortable and non-pharmacological therapy for decreasing anxiety and enhancing sleep quality in ASD. Methods: In this blinded, sham-controlled study, seven adolescents and young adults with high-functioning ASD underwent five consecutive treatment days, one day of the sham followed by four days of subthreshold TEN for 20 min. Anxiety-provoking cognitive tasks were performed after the sham/TEN. Measures of autonomic nervous system activity, including saliva α-amylase and cortisol, electrodermal activity, and heart rate variability, were collected from six participants. Results: Self-rated and caretaker-rated measures of anxiety were significantly improved with TEN treatment as compared to the sham, with effect sizes ranging from medium to large depending on the rating scale. Sleep scores from caretaker questionnaires also improved, but not significantly. Performance on two of the three anxiety-provoking cognitive tasks and heart rate variability significantly improved with TEN stimulation as compared to the sham. Four of the seven (57%) participants were responders, defined as a ≥ 30% improvement in self-reported anxiety. Salivary α-amylase decreased with more TEN sessions and decreased from the beginning to the end of the session on TEN days for responders. TEN was well-tolerated without significant adverse events. Conclusions: This study provides preliminary evidence that TEN is well-tolerated in individuals with ASD and can improve anxiety.
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spelling pubmed-87043412021-12-25 Transdermal Electrical Neuromodulation for Anxiety and Sleep Problems in High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: Feasibility and Preliminary Findings Foldes, Stephen T. Jensen, Amanda R. Jacobson, Austin Vassall, Sarah Foldes, Emily Guthery, Ann Brown, Danni Levine, Todd Tyler, William James Frye, Richard E. J Pers Med Article Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with anxiety and sleep problems. We investigated transdermal electrical neuromodulation (TEN) of the cervical nerves in the neck as a safe, effective, comfortable and non-pharmacological therapy for decreasing anxiety and enhancing sleep quality in ASD. Methods: In this blinded, sham-controlled study, seven adolescents and young adults with high-functioning ASD underwent five consecutive treatment days, one day of the sham followed by four days of subthreshold TEN for 20 min. Anxiety-provoking cognitive tasks were performed after the sham/TEN. Measures of autonomic nervous system activity, including saliva α-amylase and cortisol, electrodermal activity, and heart rate variability, were collected from six participants. Results: Self-rated and caretaker-rated measures of anxiety were significantly improved with TEN treatment as compared to the sham, with effect sizes ranging from medium to large depending on the rating scale. Sleep scores from caretaker questionnaires also improved, but not significantly. Performance on two of the three anxiety-provoking cognitive tasks and heart rate variability significantly improved with TEN stimulation as compared to the sham. Four of the seven (57%) participants were responders, defined as a ≥ 30% improvement in self-reported anxiety. Salivary α-amylase decreased with more TEN sessions and decreased from the beginning to the end of the session on TEN days for responders. TEN was well-tolerated without significant adverse events. Conclusions: This study provides preliminary evidence that TEN is well-tolerated in individuals with ASD and can improve anxiety. MDPI 2021-12-06 /pmc/articles/PMC8704341/ /pubmed/34945779 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jpm11121307 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Foldes, Stephen T.
Jensen, Amanda R.
Jacobson, Austin
Vassall, Sarah
Foldes, Emily
Guthery, Ann
Brown, Danni
Levine, Todd
Tyler, William James
Frye, Richard E.
Transdermal Electrical Neuromodulation for Anxiety and Sleep Problems in High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: Feasibility and Preliminary Findings
title Transdermal Electrical Neuromodulation for Anxiety and Sleep Problems in High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: Feasibility and Preliminary Findings
title_full Transdermal Electrical Neuromodulation for Anxiety and Sleep Problems in High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: Feasibility and Preliminary Findings
title_fullStr Transdermal Electrical Neuromodulation for Anxiety and Sleep Problems in High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: Feasibility and Preliminary Findings
title_full_unstemmed Transdermal Electrical Neuromodulation for Anxiety and Sleep Problems in High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: Feasibility and Preliminary Findings
title_short Transdermal Electrical Neuromodulation for Anxiety and Sleep Problems in High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: Feasibility and Preliminary Findings
title_sort transdermal electrical neuromodulation for anxiety and sleep problems in high-functioning autism spectrum disorder: feasibility and preliminary findings
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8704341/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34945779
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jpm11121307
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