Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Associated With Cognitive Training in Alzheimer's Disease

January 6, 2020 updated by: Suellen Marinho Andrade, Federal University of Paraíba

Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Associated With Cognitive Training in Alzheimer's Disease: Clinical Trials, Triple-blind and Randomized

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by a progressive decline in cognitive functions, interfering with autonomy and independence. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM 5), mnemonic dysfunction in AD must be related to aphasia, apraxia, agnosia, or changes in executive function. The clinical picture of the disease can be described as mild, moderate and severe. In the mild phase, the patient is disoriented and with difficulties in thinking, in later stages memory lapses become more intense and frequent. The symptoms of apraxia, aphasia and agnosia appear, causing a noticeable impact on the performance of simple daily activities, and neuropsychiatric and behavioral symptoms are expressed. Existing pharmacological treatments for AD treatment are able to minimize the symptoms of the disease, but are not able to promote cure. Therefore, studies have sought to better understand non-pharmacological strategies, aiming at optimizing the benefits of using the drug. Studies have suggested that tDCS promotes significant effects on cognitive processes assessed through cognitive tasks, not only in healthy individuals but also in clinical populations. Cognitive training (TCog) has similarly shown excellent results in the treatment of cognitive deficits due to AD. Thus, the present study aims to investigate when (before, during or after) the tDCS should be applied to potentiate the effects of TCog in people with AD by comparing four protocols of application of neurostimulation associated with TCog.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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

It consists of a randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. The AETCC must be associated with the Tcog. Patients diagnosed in mild to moderate AD will be randomized into four groups: G1, aETCC before TCog; G2, aETCC during TCog; G3 aETCC after TCog and G4: simulated aETCC during TCog. Groups G1, G2 and G3 will receive the active current, while G4 will receive the simulated current. In each condition, an initial baseline assessment (T0) will be performed after 12 sessions (T1) and three weeks after the end of interventions (T2). The outcomes evaluated will be: cognition, executive function, functionality, neuropsychiatric symptoms and occupational performance. For all analyzes, SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences - SPSS Inc, Chicago IL, USA) for Windows, Version 20.0, will be used and considered as significant, an alpha value of 5% (p <0.05 ).

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 (Anticipated)

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.
80

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 Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • Brazil
    • PB
      • João Pessoa, PB, Brazil
        • Recruiting
        • Suellen Andrade
        • Contact:

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

55 years to 85 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Patients will be included in this study following the following requirements: (a) age between 55 and 85 years; (b) probable diagnosis AD; (c) scores higher than 18 on the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE); (e) did not receive regular cognitive intervention within 3 months prior to the start of this clinical trial.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients will be excluded from this study while not meeting the following criteria: (a) individuals with severe metabolic and / or cardiac disorders, alcoholism, focal neurological disorders and associated psychiatric disorders; (b) use of hypnotics and benzodiazepines two weeks prior to study initiation; or (c) use of medication with cholinergic inhibitors and memantine for more than two months prior to this clinical trial; (d) or with any condition that could impair the neuropsychological assessment process or receive a cognitive intervention protocol from the study will be excluded from the study. In addition, participants with transient or definitive pacemakers, cochlear implants, or intracranial aneurysm clips will be excluded; (e) individuals with a history of seizures; (f) the presence of tumors, epilepsy or substance abuse.

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: Quadruple

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: aETCC before TCog
Anodic transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) associated with cognitive training (Tcog). Duration: 20 minutes; Intensity: 2mA.
Other: tDCS associated with Tcog
2mA-intensity aETCC will be applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (CPFDL) region for 20 min, three times a week (every other day) over a one-month period, totaling 12 sessions. In each session activities aimed at stimulating cognition will be applied over the 20 minutes.
Experimental: aETCC during TCog
Anodic transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) associated with cognitive training (Tcog). Duration: 20 minutes; Intensity: 2mA.
Other: tDCS associated with Tcog
2mA-intensity aETCC will be applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (CPFDL) region for 20 min, three times a week (every other day) over a one-month period, totaling 12 sessions. In each session activities aimed at stimulating cognition will be applied over the 20 minutes.
Experimental: aETCC after TCog
Anodic transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) associated with cognitive training (Tcog). Duration: 20 minutes; Intensity: 2mA.
Other: tDCS associated with Tcog
2mA-intensity aETCC will be applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (CPFDL) region for 20 min, three times a week (every other day) over a one-month period, totaling 12 sessions. In each session activities aimed at stimulating cognition will be applied over the 20 minutes.
Sham Comparator: Simulated aETCC during TCog
Anodic transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) associated with cognitive training (Tcog). Duration: 20 minutes; Intensity: 2mA.
Other: tDCS associated with Tcog
2mA-intensity aETCC will be applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (CPFDL) region for 20 min, three times a week (every other day) over a one-month period, totaling 12 sessions. In each session activities aimed at stimulating cognition will be applied over the 20 minutes.

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
Change in global cognitive function by the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS-Cog)
Time Frame: baseline, after 4 weeks and after 12 weeks
Cognitive Scale of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS-Cog), consisting of 11 items that assesses performance related to memory, language, praxis and comprehension skills, with a maximum score of 70 points. Thus, the higher the score, the more compromised the individual is. Application takes about 30 minutes (Mohs & Cohen, 1988). In addition, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), a cognitive screening tool created by Nasreddine et al. (2005).
baseline, after 4 weeks and after 12 weeks
Change in global cognitive function by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)
Time Frame: baseline, after 4 weeks and after 12 weeks
MoCA is composed of eight cognitive domains, which are scored within a range of 0 to 30 points (higher scores indicate better function): short-term memory; visuospatial skills; executive function; verbal fluency; attention, concentration and working memory; language; sentence repetition; and spatiotemporal orientation.
baseline, after 4 weeks and after 12 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
Change in Executive Function by the Trail Making Test (TMT)
Time Frame: baseline, after 4 weeks and after 12 weeks
The Trail Making Test (TMT) will be administered (Reitan, 1958). From a clinical point of view, TMT is widely used as an indicator of brain dysfunction. TMT is divided into two parts, TMT-A and TMT-B. In the first, circles numbered 1 to 25 following the randomly arranged numerical sequence should be connected, time taken and considered, ie the task should be performed as soon as possible. In the TMT-B task, the connection must alternate between numbers and letters. The TMT (AB) scores consist of the time taken to complete each part, other derived scores are used, such as the difference score (TMT-B - TMT-A) and the ratio score (TMT-A) / TMT- B) (Llinàs-Reglà et al, 2015).
baseline, after 4 weeks and after 12 weeks
Change in Executive Function by the Tower of London
Time Frame: baseline, after 4 weeks and after 12 weeks
The Tower of London (Shallice, 1982) has been used in studies to evaluate executive function in elderly with AD (Satler, Guimarães, Tomaz, 2016). Tower of London is made up of three vertical pins of different heights and three colored spheres, with a hole in the center to fit the pins. The goal is to move them to reproduce, in a given number of moves, the position of a presented target figure. There are 15 problems with increasing difficulty and reduced possibilities for moving parts. Three attempts to resolve the issue are allowed. Will be evaluated: total and average execution time, and total score, obtained by the sum of the points of each step, ranging from 0 to 3.
baseline, after 4 weeks and after 12 weeks
Change in Functionality by the Disability Assessment for Dementia (DAD)
Time Frame: baseline, after 4 weeks and after 12 weeks
Disability Assessment for Dementia (DAD) (Gauthier, et al., 1997; Gélinas et al., 1999). The DAD comprises 17 items that assess ADLs and 23 items that assess instrumental ADL (iADL) and leisure activities. In the category related to ADLs are evaluated hygiene, dressing, undressing, continence and food. IADL assessment and leisure activities consist of tasks related to meal preparation, phoning, sightseeing, finances and correspondence, medication and leisure, and housework (Feldman et al. (2001; Suh et al., 2004). maximum score is 100, lower scores indicate higher level of impairment (Bahia et al., 2010).
baseline, after 4 weeks and after 12 weeks
Change in Neuropsychiatric symptoms by the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q)
Time Frame: baseline, after 4 weeks and after 12 weeks
This outcome will be assessed with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q; Kaufer et al., 2000). This instrument consists of a self-administered caregiver scale and provides information on 12 characteristic behavioral and psychological symptoms in patients with dementia. The severity level will be identified (1 = mild, 2 = moderate, 3 = severe). The overall severity score ranges from 0 to 36, with zero indicating no neuropsychiatric symptoms. The reliability and validity of this modified NPI score have been previously established (NPI-Q; Kaufer et al., 2000).
baseline, after 4 weeks and after 12 weeks
Change in Occupational performance by theCanadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM)
Time Frame: baseline, after 4 weeks and after 12 weeks
The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) (Law et al., 2009) will be used to assess occupational performance, ie engagement in daily activities. The COPM is can be applied with the patient or caregiver, following four steps, firstly it seeks to identify which areas of occupational performance are impaired, ie, which occupations are compromised, and then assign a value from 1 to 10 to measure the degree of importance that the activities listed have for the interviewee or caregiver. Next, five of these activities are organized by priority, and each of them should be assigned a value between 1 and 10 to describe the interviewee's performance and satisfaction respectively. In the end, the averages of performance and satisfaction are calculated.
baseline, after 4 weeks and after 12 weeks

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.
Federal University of Paraíba

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: Suellen Andrade, Universidade Federal da Paraíba

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 (Actual)

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 25, 2019

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

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.
October 1, 2020

Study Completion (Anticipated)

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.
December 1, 2020

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).
November 26, 2019

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.
January 6, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

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.
January 7, 2020

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.
January 7, 2020

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.
January 6, 2020

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.
January 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • CogAD

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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