Health Conditions for afVNS Therapy

Autism is not a disease or illness. It is something that describes certain behavioural traits in individuals including difficulties in communicating, interacting or understanding how others think or feel, anxious in unfamiliar situations, longer to understand information, or feeling overwhelmed/ agitated from loud sounds and bright lights. ASD has a spectrum and is different for everyone. It may become apparent when young. It can be identified in individuals not as an illness but as someone who may require additional support in situations or daily living.

Cognitive impairment is common in aging where things are forgotten or there are periods of confusion.

Depression affects people in different ways and may exist as lasting feelings of hopelessness and unhappiness, loss of interest and anxiety, with different levels of severity in these characteristics of the disease. There can also be physical symptoms with poor sleep, lack of sex drive or appetite, tiredness and pains in the body. Depression may be triggered by life-changing events and can be more common in individuals with a family history of the disease.

Epilepsy is a brain condition that causes frequent seizures due to abnormal electrical activity in specific brain regions. The symptoms of epilepsy include uncontrolled involuntary jerking, loss of consciousness (‘spacing out’), falling and different auras (onset of sensations). Epilepsy is commonly a life-long condition starting from childhood that requires the careful control & management of seizures.

Inflammation is the body’s response to infections or injury for normal protection, as part of the body’s defense system and is activated by the immune system. In certain diseases, the immune system triggers inflammation when no protection is needed and this causes discomfort or damage to parts of the body.

Migraine disease is the third most common disorder and is felt as a headache with throbbing pain that is unilateral (one side) with severity that varies between individuals. The onset of migraines are typically from early adulthood. It is thought that migraines are a result of abnormal chemical signaling that affects the nerve fibers and blood vessels in the brain that results in moderate to severe pain. Migraines may be triggered by stress, menstruation (in women), tiredness, or certain environmental stimuli including light, sounds, or specific food and drinks.