Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation as a potential novel treatment for polycystic ovary syndrome

Abstract

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder in women of childbearing age. The etiology of PCOS is multifactorial, and current treatments for PCOS are far from satisfactory. Recently, an imbalanced autonomic nervous system (ANS) with sympathetic hyperactivity and reduced parasympathetic nerve activity (vagal tone) has aroused increasing attention in the pathogenesis of PCOS. In this paper, we review an innovative therapy for the treatment of PCOS and related co-morbidities by targeting parasympathetic modulation based on non-invasive transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation (ta-VNS). In this work, we present the role of the ANS in the development of PCOS and describe a large number of experimental and clinical reports that support the favorable effects of VNS/ta-VNS in treating a variety of symptoms, including obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus, inflammation, microbiome dysregulation, cardiovascular disease, and depression, all of which are also commonly present in PCOS patients. We propose a model focusing on ta-VNS that may treat PCOS by (1) regulating energy metabolism via bidirectional vagal signaling; (2) reversing insulin resistance via its antidiabetic effect; (3) activating anti-inflammatory pathways; (4) restoring homeostasis of the microbiota-gut-brain axis; (5) restoring the sympatho-vagal balance to improve CVD outcomes; (6) and modulating mental disorders. ta-VNS is a safe clinical procedure and it might be a promising new treatment approach for PCOS, or at least a supplementary treatment for current therapeutics.