Effect of Transcutaneous Auricular Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation on Migraine

Brief summary (registry, in English)

This randomized, sham-controlled, and assessor and participants-blind clinical study aims to investigate the effects of transcutaneous auricular trigeminal nerve stimulation (taTNS) on intensity of headache, sleep quality, level of disability, and Heart rate variability (HRV) in patients with migraine. The inclusion criteria were: (1) being aged 18-45 years, (2) being literate in Turkish, (3) having been diagnosed with episodic migraine without aura by a neurologist according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders, (4) having a history of migraine for at least 6 months with at least 2 attacks per month in the last 3 months. The exclusion criteria were: (1) being pregnant or breastfeeding; (2) regular use of analgesics or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for more than 15 days per month; (3) pacemaker implantation; (4) a history of addiction, syncope or abnormal ECG findings; (5) a history of intracranial haemorrhage or significant head trauma; (6) a diagnosis of epilepsy, severe anxiety or depression; (7) other types of headaches, including paresthesia or medication-overuse headaches; and (8) cognitive, visual, or auditory problems that would prevent participation in the study. The TaTNS was applied to the intervention and control (sham) groups by a physiotherapist (AP). The treatment session lasted 20 minutes and will apply three days a week for 12 weeks. The physical (age, gender, height, body weight), sociodemographic (marital status, education level), and clinical characteristics (chronic diseases, medications used, age of migraine onset, migraine frequency in the last month, migraine treatment history) of participants will be recorded. Primary outcome measurement: Migraine headache intensity (VAS), disability level (Migraine Disability Assessment Scale \[MIDAS\]), sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index \[PSQI\]), Secondary outcome measurement: Heart rate variability (HRV) (Polar H10 device) will be assessed. All calculations will be performed using 5-minute Polar H10 device recordings cleaned of artifacts, using Kubios HRV Premium software (Kubios Oy, Finland) in accordance with international standards.

What you commit to

• Study type: Interventional
• Participants enrolled: 102
• From 30 Jan 2026 to the primary completion date, 2 Jun 2026
• 1 site in 1 country
• Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them

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Who cannot take part

Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.

Who the study is looking for

Age in the registry: 18 years to 45 years · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers

Full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov

Sites (1)

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