The Effects of Anodal and Cathodal tDCS Combined With Conventional Physical Therapy in Patients With Acute Stroke

July 3, 2022 updated by: Mahidol University

The Effects of Anodal and Cathodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Combined With Conventional Physical Therapy in Patients With Acute Stroke

The objective of the study is thus to compare the effects 5 consecutive sessions of anodal and cathodal tDCS combined with conventional physical therapy on upper and lower limb motor performance in acute stroke at immediate, and 1-month followup.

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

Stroke is a major cause of long-term disability in stroke survivors that related with motor impairment. After stroke, the cortical excitability of ipsilesional hemisphere is decreased; in contrast, the cortical excitability of contralesional hemisphere is increased. Conventional physical therapy is beneficial to motor recovery, but early rehabilitation was not always help the patients get full recovery. tDCS is an adjuvant tools which deliver weak direct current through scalp to promote motor recovery in stroke rehabilitation. The anodal-tDCS increases cortical excitability, while the cathodal-tDCS decreases cortical excitability. Previous studies demonstrated that both monocephalic techniques of tDCS can improve motor function in chronic, subacute, and acute phase, but it is still inconclusive that which monocephalic montages had better effect, especially in acute phase. There are several studies supported the benefits of monocephalic tDCS combined with rehabilitation programs on upper and lower limbs motor function in acute stroke. However, there is no evidence that directly compared the effect of monocephalic tDCS in acute stroke patients. The objective of the study is to compare the effects of anodal and cathodal tDCS combined with conventional physical therapy for 5 sessions on motor performance in acute stroke at immediate, and 1-month follow-up.

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.
36

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

  • Thailand
    • Nakonpathom
      • Salaya, Nakonpathom, Thailand, 73170
        • Faculty ofPhysical Therapy, Mahidol University

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 75 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Acute ischemic stroke patients who have aged between 18 and 75 years
  2. Having a first ever-ischemic stroke that are confirmed by MRI/CT scan
  3. Post stroke onset 2-10 days
  4. Be able to follow command
  5. Be able to walk with or without assistive device (Modified Ranking Scale ≤ 4)
  6. Free of any neurological antecedent or unstable condition (such as epilepsy) or cancer.
  7. Be able to initiate the upper limb movement

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Recurrent stroke
  2. National Institute of Health Stroke Scale ≥ 20 points
  3. Presence of intracranial metal implantation, cochlear implant, or cardiac pacemaker
  4. Having excessive pain in any joint of the lower limb (numerical pain rating score > 4/10)
  5. Having an open wound or wound infraction on scalp
  6. Having neglect or psychological diseases (such as schizophrenia, major depression)

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: Factorial Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

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: Cathodal tDCS & PT
Cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) will be applied for 20 mins before conventional physical therapy (about 1 hour). Cathode on the on the motor area (M1) of the affected hemisphere, anode on the supraorbital area of the unaffect hemisphere.Current intensity is fixed at 1.5 mA and current will flow continuously. Physical therapist will give an intervention program base on the same basic conventional physical therapy treatment. The scope of intervention is administered to improve motor functions and cerebral hemodynamic .
Device: Transcranial direct current stimulation
Cathodal/Anodal tDCS will be applied in 1.5 mA, 20 mins before conventional physical therapy for 5 days. All experiments will be performed in random order for each subject.
Experimental: Anodal-tDCS & PT
Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) will be applied for 20 mins before conventional physical therapy (about 1 hours). Anode on the motor are (M1) of the affected hemisphere, and cathodal on the supraorbital area of unaffected hemisphere. Current intensity is fixed at 1.5 mA and current will flow continuously. Physical therapist will give an intervention program base on the same basic conventional physical therapy treatment. The scope of intervention is administered to improve motor functions and cerebral hemodynamic .
Device: Transcranial direct current stimulation
Cathodal/Anodal tDCS will be applied in 1.5 mA, 20 mins before conventional physical therapy for 5 days. All experiments will be performed in random order for each subject.

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
Fugl-Meyer Assessment
Time Frame: 20 minutes
gold standard and widely used tool to assess sensorimotor in stroke. The item from upper limb and lower limb section will be used. The items are rated on a 3-point ordinal scale as follows: 0 = unable to perform; 1 = partial ability to perform; and 2 = near normal ability to perform.
20 minutes
Wolf Motor Function Test
Time Frame: 5 minutes
The participants will be asked to perform 2 items that consist of reaching a can and reaching a pen because two tasks is the most common reaching task of hand functions in daily living activities.
5 minutes
Five Times Sit to Stand Test
Time Frame: 5 minutes
Subjects will sits on the chair and place their back against the chair. Timing will begin at "GO", the subjects will be asked to walk 3m, turn, walk back, and sit down. The stopwatch stops when the patient's buttocks touch the seat.
5 minutes
Time-up and go test
Time Frame: 5 minutes
The TUG test is a commonly used screening tool to measure basic mobility correlating to dynamic balance. Start from sitting, stand up, walk 3 meters, turn around, walk back 3 meters and sit down. Timed to complete the task represent the body transfer and gait performance
5 minutes
Muscle strength
Time Frame: 10 minutes
The strength of UE (shoulder flexor, shoulder extensor, elbow extensor, wrist extensor) and LE (hip extensor, hip flexor, knee extensor and ankle dorsiflexor) will be assessed by hand-held dynamometer
10 minutes

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
Hemodynamic response (VMR%)
Time Frame: 15 minutes
cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV), cerebral vasomotor reactivity (VMR) that is the capability of cerebral small vessels to respond to a stimulus
15 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.
Mahidol 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 (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.
October 1, 2020

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.
December 1, 2021

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.
December 1, 2021

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).
October 1, 2020

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.
October 1, 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.
October 6, 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.
July 7, 2022

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.
July 3, 2022

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.
July 1, 2022

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.
  • SI-2842019

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

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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