Symposium

Stroke

Clinical Practice (assessment, diagnosis, treatment, knowledge translation/EBP, implementation science, program development)

Neuroplasticity (includes neuroscience)

Bringing Evidence-Based Paired Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) Therapy to the Clinic

Friday, November 11, 2022

1:00 PM – 2:15 PM

Presenter(s)

TK

Teresa J. Kimberley, PhD, PT, FAPTA

Professor, Director of PhD Program in Rehabilitation Science
MGH Institute of Health Professions
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Gerard E. Francisco, MD

Professor and Chair of PM&R
University of Texas McGovern Medical School and TIRR Memorial Hermann, Houston, Texas, USA
Houston, Texas, United States

Slides
Isha Vora, Ph.D., OT

Postdoctoral Fellow
MGH Institute of Health Professions
Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States
NY

Nuray Yozbatiran, PhD

Associate Professor
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Houston, Texas, United States

Vagus nerve stimulation paired with rehabilitation is a therapeutic approach recently approved by the FDA to enhance upper limb motor recovery after ischemic stroke. It is important for clinicians to be well-versed in this therapy and be able to identify stroke survivors who may benefit from this therapy. This symposium will review the short- and long-term efficacy and safety data supporting the application of VNS in appropriate stroke survivors with moderate-to-severe upper limb impairment and discuss VNS’s place in the armamentarium of currently available therapies for poststroke upper limb rehabilitation. A live demonstration of a VNS therapy session will illustrate the procedures taken for effective implementation of the therapy. We will also discuss the organization of a poststroke VNS clinic and the reimbursement landscape for coverage of the therapy by insurance.

Learning Objectives:

Describe the evidence underpinning the efficacy and safety of paired VNS therapy for poststroke motor recovery.
Enumerate the procedural steps in performing paired VNS therapy in the clinic setting.
List strategies that support successful clinical implementation and reimbursement strategy.