Cape Girardeau, Missouri news highlights UC clinical trial
Study to test neurostimulation to treat opioid withdrawal, PTSD
KFVS-TV in Cape Girardeau, Missouri highlighted a University of Cincinnati clinical trial testing a wearable neurostimulation device to help patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) stick with medication treatment while finding the right dose.
UC's Joel Sprunger, principal investigator of the trial, said the medication buprenorphine is an effective treatment to help patients with OUD manage symptoms of opioid use disorder withdrawal, but there is an adjustment period of up to three months as each patient finds the right dose to manage their symptoms.
In response to this challenge, the trial will utilize the Sparrow Ascent – a patient-administered wearable device that delivers mild electrical stimulation to the cranial branches of the vagus and trigeminal nerves on and around the ear.
Sprunger said the stimulation “pumps the brakes” on the sympathetic nervous system by enhancing parasympathetic activity, helping to transition someone from fight-or-flight to “rest and digest.”
“By providing people control over that stimulation, we can empower them with a way to turn it on when needed and feel some relief,” said Sprunger, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience in UC’s College of Medicine. “Their heart rate slows down, breathing slows down and there’s a lot less of a sense of panic and urgency. So that’s the key ingredient that we think will hit both PTSD and opioid withdrawal symptoms at the same time.”
The trial is enrolling patients at the Gibson Center for Behavioral Change in Cape Girardeau.
“It does give the patient some ownership and some control over their treatment,” Ryan Essex, Gibson Center chief operating officer, told KFVS. "We get to bring cutting edge treatment options to populations who are kind of our most vulnerable and don’t get access to those."
NeuroNews also highlighted the trial. Read the NeuroNews story.
Featured photo at top of woman wearing the Sparrow Ascent device. Photo/Spark Biomedical.
Related Stories
CCM welcomes Sekyung Jang as Assistant Professor of Music Therapy
June 12, 2026
UC College-Conservatory of Music Dean Pete Jutras has announced the appointment of Sekyung Jang, PhD, as CCM's new Assistant Professor of Music Therapy. Her faculty appointment officially begins on Aug. 15, 2026, and Jang will work with college leadership to develop a new program in Music Therapy at CCM in partnership with UC's College of Medicine and the Osher Center for Integrative Health. Jang is an educator, scholar and music therapist passionate about fostering a culture of learning in which students feel safe to explore new ideas, make mistakes, and freely and respectfully receive and give feedback. Jang’s teaching is characterized by a balanced combination of lectures, experiential learning opportunities, and discussion-based instruction that helps students integrate theory and practice.
Taking a second look at surgery eligibility for patients with lung cancer who smoke
June 11, 2026
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine have found that patients who continue to smoke ahead of lung cancer surgery have a higher risk of pulmonary complications, but their short-term mortality rate is similar to patients who were able to stop smoking before surgery.. Their findings were published recently in the Journal of. American College of Surgeons
Pocket-sized population threat
June 10, 2026
The Financial Times took a deep dive into why populations around the world continue to be on the decline. The publication cited new University of Cincinnati research as part of the investigation that looks at the fall of fertility in the digital era.