Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) and Parkinson's Disease

October 28, 2019 updated by: Gad Alon, University of Maryland, Baltimore

Can Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS)Modulate Protective Stepping and Gait Performance of People With Parkinson's Disease

The use of low level electrical stimulation when applied over the head, also called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), is being tested by several groups of researchers to see if tDCS can improve movements of persons with damage to the brain. The safety and potential benefits of tDCS to children or adults patients who are paralyzed because of brain damage are reported in the medical literature. In addition, some patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) experience improvement in memory and report better use of the hand after tDCS. The treatment requires putting electrodes (pads) over the head and sending very small amount of electrical current that the patient may feel as "little tingling". Application of tDCS takes 20 min. In this study we wish to test if tDCS application can improve stepping and walking ability of subjects with PD and if the improvement is the same as when walking on treadmill. We plan to test the subject's ability to step when pulled by a laboratory testing system and also test his/her walking ability. There will be 3 sessions 7 days apart. In the first session the subject will be tested then treated for 20 min with tDCS and then tested again. In the second session the subject will be tested then walk on a treadmill for 20 min then tested again. In the third session the subject will be tested then walk on the treadmill for 20 min while receiving also tDCS and tested one last time at the end of the session. Each session will take between 2 and 3 hours.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Recent advances in non-invasive electrical stimulation technology including transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) have provided novel and low risk options to rehabilitate the impaired ability of the central nervous system (CNS) to process sensorimotor information. Furthermore, tDCS appears to enhance CNS connectivity and there is preliminary evidence indicating that patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD) may experience improvement in working memory, the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, simple reaction time and the Purdue Pegboard test. tDCS is inexpensive, portable and available for repeated home use. It may provide long-lasting enhancement of cortical activity in part because tDCS is easy to administer frequently and to combine it with other rehabilitation approaches including posture and gait training. However to date, no study has examined quantitatively the effects of tDCS on posture control and walking ability in patients with PD. As a first step we plan to identify the immediate effects of tDCS, as well as the added value of tDCS to treadmill exercise training, to improve posture and gait of individuals with PD.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
10

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21201
        • PTRS Research Lab

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 85 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosis of adult onset of PD
  • A history of freezing of gait (FOG) as evidence by clinical assessment
  • A stable regimen of anti-parkinsonian medications
  • Ability to walk at least 10m without assistance
  • Ability to walk on a treadmill for 20 minutes
  • Personal weight of less than 500 Lb (because the suspension harness over the treadmill is limited to 500 Lb
  • Stage 3 of the Hoehn and Yahr disability scale
  • A score of >24 on the Mini Mental State Examination

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Evidence of any clinically significant functional impairment related to cardiovascular, pulmonary, metabolic, other neurologic or musculoskeletal disease criterial that would preclude participation in training
  • Any medical condition that might require other medical or surgical treatment during the study period
  • A history of brain surgery or placement of a deep brain stimulator
  • Dyskinesias > grade 2 on the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS)
  • Any uncorrected vision or hearing problems that may limit daily activities or communication

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Single Group
10 subjects with Parkinson's Disease receiving tPCS during the first session, treadmill walk, 7-10 days later (second session, and combined tPCS and treadmill 7-10 days week later (third session)
Device: Cranial Electric Stimulation (CES)
We will follow the procedure described by several investigators as safe and effective. The participant will sit on a standard chair. Two commercially available surface electrodes will be embedded in an elastic head cup. Each electrode will be covered with a water soaked absorbent fabric. One positive (+) electrode will be placed over the primary motor cortex (M1) and pre-motor areas. One negative (-) electrode will be placed over the skin overlying the contra lateral supra-orbital region. The electrodes will be connected via 2 leads to a battery powered direct current stimulator. The stimulator will be programmed to deliver 0.975mA (peak 4mA) over 20 minutes.
Device: Treadmill
The participant will walk on a treadmill for 20 minutes at the individually self-selected velocity determined at baseline.
Device: CES and Treadmill
Participants will have a combined session with CES while walking on the treadmill for 20 minutes at the individually self-selected velocity determined at baseline.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Stride Length
Time Frame: Data collection occurred before and immediately after each training session
Stride Length was measured in centimeters
Data collection occurred before and immediately after each training session
Gait Velocity
Time Frame: Data collection occurred before and immediately after each training session
Gait Velocity was measured in meters per second
Data collection occurred before and immediately after each training session
Cadence
Time Frame: Data collection occurred before and immediately after each training session
Cadence was measured in steps per minute
Data collection occurred before and immediately after each training session
Number of Steps to Regain Balance
Time Frame: Data collection occurred before and immediately after each training session
Steps to regain balance were measured by the number of steps needed to recover standing balance. The steps were counted using a custom software of the motion capture system.
Data collection occurred before and immediately after each training session
First Step Length
Time Frame: Data collection occurred before and immediately after each training session
First step length was measured in meters from the starting position of the foot to the maximum displacement of the foot after the first step. Measurements were taken separately for forward and backward first step.
Data collection occurred before and immediately after each training session
First Step Velocity
Time Frame: Data collection occurred before and immediately after each training session
First step velocity was measured in meters per second
Data collection occurred before and immediately after each training session

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Maryland, Baltimore

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Gad Alon, PhD, PT, University of Maryland, Baltimore
  • Principal Investigator: Mark W Rogers, PhD, PT, University of Maryland, Baltimore
  • Principal Investigator: Lisa Shulman, MD, Univeristy of Maryland, Baltimore

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 1, 2010

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
June 1, 2011

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 1, 2011

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 19, 2010

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 8, 2010

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
April 9, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
October 30, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 28, 2019

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
October 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • HP-00040670

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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