Effect of Theta-Burst Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TBS) for Freezing of Gait

November 17, 2025 updated by: WANG KAI, Anhui Medical University
To investigate the treatment effect of Theta-burst Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TBS) on patients with freezing of gait (FOG) and the underlying neural mechanism.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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

This was a open-label clinical trial to assess the efficacy and underlying neural mechanism of TBS among patients with FOG. Forty patients with FOG were treated with TBS for 1 week.

Before the TBS treatment, the Freezing of Gait Questionnaire, the Timed up and go test, the Standing Start 180° Turning Test, the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, and the Non-motor Symptom Scale, the Pittsburgh sleep quality index were obtained by a trained investigator to assess baseline severity. The patients had receiving a battery measure of neuropsychological tests(mini-mental state examination, Montreal cognitive assessment, digital span test, verbal fluency test, Hamilton depression/anxiety scale) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan in multimodalities, electroencephalography (EEG) record and fNIRS.

In the second day after the last treatment, all the tests, MRI 、EEG and fNIRS were reassessed. Patients were instructed to focus their answers on the past 1 week.

The clinical symptom and cognition of participants were followed in one month and two month after the last treatment.

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 (Estimated)

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.
40

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 Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • China
    • Anhui
      • Hefei, Anhui, China, 230032
        • Recruiting
        • Cognitive Neuropsychology Lab Anhui Medical University
        • Contact:
        • 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

40 years to 85 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. diagnosis of FOG with expertise in movement disorders.
  2. the score of item 3 of the FOG questionnaire ≥1.
  3. ongoing treatment with a stable dose of any medication for 2 months.
  4. 40 years of age or older.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. a history of addiction, psychiatric disorders, or neurological diseases other than PD.
  2. focal brain lesions on T1-/T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images.
  3. anti-PD medication adjustments during rTMS treatment.
  4. history of substance abuse within the past 6 months.
  5. nonremovable metal objects in or around the head.
  6. previously received rTMS treatment.
  7. prior history of seizure or history in first-degree relatives.

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: TBS Group
Participants will receive active transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) daily for 1 week
Device: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
The stimulations were performed by MagStim Rapid2.

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
The Standing-Start 180° Turn Test (SS-180)
Time Frame: changes from baseline to 1-week post-treatment
The participants walk for a distance of five meters from a sitting position and come back to the chair after turning 180° around a traffic cone in a 0.7 m × 0.7 m target box.The time and number of steps during the 180° turn (SS180) are measured.
changes from baseline to 1-week post-treatment

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
Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale III (UPDRSIII)
Time Frame: changes from baseline to 1-week post-treatment
This is an very common clinical motor estimating scale, 14 items and 108' in total. Higher scores indicate worse symptoms.
changes from baseline to 1-week post-treatment
HAMD (Hamilton Depression Scale)
Time Frame: changes from baseline to 1-week post-treatment
This scale was compiled by Hamilton in 1960, is the most common clinical to assess Depression Scale. In this study, 17 versions were selected, and there were 17 questions. The subjects were assessed for their depression in the past week. Each question scored between 0 and 4 points.Higher scores indicate more depressive symptoms.
changes from baseline to 1-week post-treatment
HAMA (Hamilton Anxiety Scale)
Time Frame: changes from baseline to 1-week post-treatment
This scale was compiled by Hamilton in 1959.It was one of the most commonly used scales in psychiatric clinic, including 14 items. It is often used in clinical diagnosis and degree classification of anxiety disorder. The subjects were assessed for their anxiety in the past week. Each question scored between 0 and 4 points. The higher the score, the more symptoms of anxiety.
changes from baseline to 1-week post-treatment
The timed up and go test (TUG)
Time Frame: changes from baseline to 1-week post-treatment
The participants walk for a distance of five meters from a sitting position and come back to the chair after turning 180° around a traffic cone in a 0.7 m × 0.7 m target box .The time and number of steps during the whole course are measured.
changes from baseline to 1-week post-treatment
The Freezing of Gait Questionnaire (FOGQ)
Time Frame: changes from baseline to 1-week post-treatment
This is an very common clinical motor estimating scale for evaluating FOG symptoms with 6 items and 24' in total. Higher scores indicate worse symptoms.
changes from baseline to 1-week post-treatment
Non-motor symptoms questionnaire
Time Frame: changes from baseline to 1-week post-treatment
This is a very common clinical scale with nine domains (30 items). Each item was scored on "severity" range from 1 to 3 and "frequency" range from 1 to 4. Higher scores indicate worse symptoms.
changes from baseline to 1-week post-treatment
Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI)
Time Frame: changes from baseline to 1-week post-treatment
This scale was developed by Dr. Buysse et al., a psychiatrist at the University of Pittsburgh in 1989. The scale is suitable for the evaluation of sleep quality in patients with sleep disorders and mental disorders, as well as for the evaluation of sleep quality in general.Each question scored between 0 and 3 points.The higher the score, the worse sleep quality.
changes from baseline to 1-week post-treatment

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.
Anhui Medical University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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 22, 2021

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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 30, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

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 30, 2028

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).
January 3, 2022

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 3, 2022

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 14, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

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.
November 19, 2025

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.
November 17, 2025

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.
November 1, 2025

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.
  • AHMU-TMS-FOG

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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