{"doi":"10.1016/j.jgo.2026.103049","title":"Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation for prevention of postoperative cognitive dysfunction in older adults with gastrointestinal tumors: A randomized controlled trial","abstract":null,"journal":"Journal of Geriatric Oncology","year":2026,"id":627937,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":0,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":null,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":false,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":null,"fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":1625520,"name":"Jianhua Xia","orcid":null,"position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1625521,"name":"Xiangsheng Li","orcid":null,"position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":404087,"name":"Hong Chen","orcid":"0000-0001-8764-0024","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1382925,"name":"Bin Yu","orcid":"0009-0007-1607-9285","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":829400,"name":"Li Ma","orcid":"0000-0003-3873-5080","position":0,"is_corresponding":false}],"reference_count":0,"raw_metadata":{"has_enrichment":true,"resolved":true,"title":"Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation for prevention of postoperative cognitive dysfunction in older adults with gastrointestinal tumors: A randomized controlled trial","abstract":"<h4>Introduction</h4>Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is common in the perioperative period among older adults and has been linked to inflammatory responses, neural injury-related biomarkers, and mood changes. Evidence for safe, feasible, and effective non-pharmacological interventions remains limited. This prospective, double-blind, randomized controlled trial evaluated the association between transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) and postoperative cognitive test performance, and examined concomitant changes in inflammatory and neural injury-related biomarkers and mood.<h4>Materials and methods</h4>A total of 103 older adults scheduled for elective laparoscopic gastrointestinal tumor resection were consecutively enrolled and randomly assigned to taVNS or sham stimulation; 99 participants completed follow-up and were included in the primary analysis. Cognitive function was assessed preoperatively and at postoperative day 1, day 7, month 1, and month 3 using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Serum interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and S100β were measured preoperatively and on postoperative day 7. Mood was assessed preoperatively and on postoperative day 7 using the 24-item Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD-24).<h4>Results</h4>From postoperative day 7 onward, MoCA scores were higher in the taVNS group than in the sham group (p = 0.01), with differences maintained at postoperative months 1 and 3 (absolute between-group differences of 2.06 and 2.97 points, respectively; both p < 0.01). RM ANOVA and ANCOVA indicated significant main effects of time and a significant group × time interaction. On postoperative day 7, the taVNS group showed lower postoperative IL-1β and S100β levels than the control group (both p < 0.001) and a smaller worsening in HAMD-24 scores. ΔMoCA was negatively correlated with ΔIL-1β (r = -0.425), ΔS100β (r = -0.248), and ΔHAMD-24 (r = -0.234). Exploratory stratified analyses showed broadly consistent effect directions across subgroups. Adverse event rates were similar between groups (approximately 4.1% in each), and events were mild local reactions.<h4>Discussion</h4>In this exploratory randomized controlled trial, perioperative taVNS was associated with a more favorable MoCA trajectory after laparoscopic gastrointestinal tumor surgery in older adults, with between-group differences in IL-1β, S100β, and HAMD-24 on postoperative day 7. Clinical significance and generalizability require confirmation in larger studies.","is_dataset_classified":null,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"views":0,"has_version_chain":false,"is_dataset":false,"is_oa":false,"pmid":"42456197","pmcid":null,"openalex_id":"https://openalex.org/W7168481939","authors":[],"funders":[],"total_grants":0,"fwci":0.0,"citation_percentile":0.88887895,"influential_citations":0,"citation_trend":[],"oa_status":"closed","license":"https://doi.org/10.15223/policy-004","oa_locations":[{"url":"https://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S1879406826002031?httpAccept=text/xml","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S1879406826002031?httpAccept=text/plain","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jgo.2026.103049","host_type":"journal"},{"url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42456197","host_type":"repository"}],"fields_of_study":["Vagus Nerve Stimulation Research","Intensive Care Unit Cognitive Disorders","Enhanced Recovery After Surgery"],"mesh_terms":[],"keywords":["Perioperative","Randomized controlled trial","Mood","Vagus nerve stimulation","Postoperative cognitive dysfunction","Montreal Cognitive Assessment","Depression (economics)","Analysis of variance","Interleukin-1β","Inflammatory Response","Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation","S100 Calcium-binding Protein B"],"sdg_mappings":[{"sdg_number":0,"sdg_label":"Good health and well-being"}],"linked_datasets":[],"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"database_accessions":[],"source":"live","citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-08-05T10:09:31.047591Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}