Table 1.

Comparing the baseline characteristics of demographics, clinical characteristics and serum biomarkers between active and sham nVNS groups.

	Both groups Mean (SD)	Baseline – Sham Group Mean (SD)	Baseline – Active Group Mean (SD)	Group Comparisons (P value)
Demography
Age (years)	62.5 ± 10.3	60.8 ± 14.4	62.26 ± 10.5	1.0
Sex (n) (female)	3 (10.2%)	3 (11.5%)	2 (8.7%)	1.0
Gait
Velocity (cm/s)	64.5 ± 20.6	66.9 ± 19.4	61.9 ± 20.3	0.13
Average Step Length (cm)	25 ± 20.5	36.8 ± 10.4	36.2 ± 10.3	0.3
Average Stance time (s)	0.8 ± 0.2	0.780 ± 0.17	0.825 ± 0.17	0.03
Clinical scores
MDS-UPDRS I	15.9 ± 7.3	15.6 ± 6.8	16.3 ± 8.1	0.67
MDS-UPDRS II	21.4 ± 5.5	20.8 ± 5.8	22.1 ± 5.1	0.14
MDS-UPDRS III	39.5 ± 11.6	40.3 ± 12.7	38.5 ± 10.4	0.33
H & Y	2.4 ± 0.6	2.4 ± 0.5	2.3 ± .7	0.26
TUG (s)	42 ± 55.2	39.2 ± 77.5	45.4 ± 67.5	0.71
FES	55.2 ± 10.6	54.2 ± 12.8	56.4 ± 7.3	0.25
MMSE	26.4 ± 3.9	25.9 ± 3.8	26.5 ± 3.8	0.92
RBDSQ	4.7 ± 2.9	4.9 ± 2.9	5.2 ± 2.9	0.27
FOGQ1	2.9 ± 0.5	2.9 ± 0.53	2.9 ± 0.54	1.00
FOGQ2	2.7 ± 0.5	2.6 ± 0.5	2.8 ± 0.5	0.16
FOGQ3	3.2 ± 0.7	3.1 ± 0.6	2.5 ± 0.7	0.26
FOGQ4	2.5 ± 0.9	2.4 ± 0.8	2.6 ± 0.9	0.61
FOGQ5	2.3 ± 0.9	2.3 ± 0.8	2.4 ± 1.1	0.88
FOGQ6	2.4 ± 0.9	2.3 ± 0.8	2.5 ± 0.9	0.45
Total FOG-Q score	14.7 ± 5.4	15.5 ± 3.1	13.9 ± 6.9	0.38
Biomarkers
Serum TNF-α (pg/ml)	25.6 ± 4.1	23.2 ± 2.2	28.1 ± 4.1	0.1
Serum reduced glutathione (pg/ml)	6.4 ± 0.7	6.7 ± 0.7	6.0 ± 0.6	0.3
Serum BDNF (pg/ml)	1945.2 ± 256.6	1943.7 ± 348.1	1943.7 ± 146.4	0.3

The differences were assessed by Wilcoxon Sign Rank Test for numerical variables and Fisher’s exact test for categorical variables (e.g. sex); P < 0.05 (*) was considered significant. [SD = Standard Deviation; MDS-UPDRS = MDS-Unified Parkinson’s disease Rating Scale; H&Y = Hoehn and Yahr scale; TUG = Timed Up and Go test; FES = Falls Efficacy Scale; MMSE = Mini Mental State Examination; RBD-Q = REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder Questionnaire; FOG-Q = Freezing of Gait Questionnaire; TNF-α = Tumour Necrosis Factor-α; BDNF = Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor].