Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation

September 13, 2010 updated by: Fudan University

Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) Enhances Neurological Function Recovery Among Post-stroke Patients

To investigate the efficacy of using transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) to enhance the regaining of neurological function among post-stroke patients.

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

Sixty post-stroke patients were randomly assigned to receive 15 sessions of the usual rehabilitation programme with or without tACS. The NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and the mean blood flow velocity (MFV) and Gosling pulsatility index (PI) captured for the middle, anterior, and posterior cerebral artery were the outcome measures.

Fifteen 30-minute sessions of tACS appear to be effective for enhancing post-stroke patients' neurological function. The haemodynamic measures taken indicated that the regaining of function among the patients was largely attributed to a lowering of the vascular autoregulatory activity together with an increase in blood flow velocity at the middle cerebral artery. Future studies should explore the underlying mechanisms mediating the positive effects brought about by tACS in post-stroke rehabilitation.

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.
312

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.
  • Phase 4

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

  • China
    • Shanghai
      • Shanghai, Shanghai, China, 200040
        • Huashan Hospital

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

40 years to 79 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • diagnosed as first onset intracerebral haemorrhage or infarction (according to ICD-10 I61.0-I61.6 or I63.3-I63.6, with or without I69, i.e.: sequelae of cerebrovascular disease)
  • between 15 and 60 days after the onset
  • right handedness
  • no previous neurological or psychiatric disorders
  • positive transtemporal windows for bilateral middle, anterior, and posterior cerebral arteries insonation (according to the standards set by the Transcranial Doppler Ultrasonographic Device (TCD))
  • NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores between 14 and 24
  • not receiving rehabilitation before admission

Exclusion Criteria:

  • medical comorbidity preventing the patient undergoing the intervention
  • preceding epileptic fits
  • having metallic implants in the brain or a pacemaker
  • history of surgery to the brain

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: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

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: tACS group
Device: transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS)
Patients in the tACS group received a total of 15 sessions of brain stimulation. The sessions were conducted on weekdays (from Monday to Friday) for three consecutive weeks. Each session lasted 30 minutes. The alternating current stimulations were generated by a CVFT-MG201 machine. Stimulations were delivered by two U-shaped electrodes (approximately 7 cm2) fixed on the patient's left and right mastoid regions (anode or cathode varied depending on polarity of the alternating current). The frequencies (supra-slow waves: < 1 Hz; theta to gamma), levels of intensities (0 to 3mA), and density function (follows a bell-shaped curve; mean intensity ~ 2.1mA) of the current were delivered according to the manufacturer's pre-set random protocol.
Other Names:
  • CVFT-MG201(China Patent No. ZL98121951.9)
No Intervention: Control group
Patients in the control group followed exactly the same protocol but without receiving the transcranial alternating current stimulation .

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
Time Frame
NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score
Time Frame: 3 weeks
3 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
the mean blood flow velocity (MFV)
Time Frame: 30 minutes
captured for the middle, anterior, and posterior cerebral artery by transcranial Doppler
30 minutes
Gosling pulsatility index (PI)
Time Frame: 30 minutes
captured for the middle, anterior, and posterior cerebral artery by transcranial Doppler
30 minutes

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.
Fudan University

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

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: Yongshan Hu, MD, Rehabilitation Center, Huashan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China
  • Study Director: Chetwyn Chan, PhD, Department of Rehabilitation Science, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University

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.
November 1, 2006

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, 2007

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.
September 1, 2009

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).
September 10, 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.
September 13, 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.
September 14, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

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.
September 14, 2010

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.
September 13, 2010

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, 2006

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.
  • 2006-102

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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