TDCS-potentiated Generalization of Cognitive Training in the Rehabilitation of Long COVID Symptoms

March 8, 2023 updated by: University of Minnesota
The overarching goals of this study are to employ cognitive testing to understand how transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), when used concurrently with cognitive training tasks, can affect cognitive impairment symptoms in individuals with long COVID, or post-acute sequelae SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), and to examine variability in response between active and sham tDCS treatment groups.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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Withdrawn

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.

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

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.
  • Name: Kelvin O. Lim, MD
  • Phone Number: 612-626-6772
  • Email: kolim@umn.edu

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Minnesota
      • Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55455
        • University of Minnesota

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 60 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Ability to provide consent and comply with study procedures
  • Age 18 to 60 years old
  • Estimated IQ within the specified range (70 <= IQ E <= 115)
  • Current post-acute sequelae SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) as defined by the National Center for Health Statistics post-COVID-19 conditions survey ((Long COVID 2022), including impaired cognition symptoms, for at least 3 months post-infection
  • Ability to participate in four weekly 40' training sessions over four weeks and participate in two assessments
  • English speaking

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Any medical condition or treatment with neurological sequelae (e.g. stroke, tumor, loss of consciousness >30 min, concussion involving hospital admission, HIV)
  • Contraindications for tDCS (e.g. history of seizures)
  • Five or more sessions of neuromodulation (such as tDCS) or cognitive training in the past 6 months

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: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel 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: Cognitive training + active-tDCS
Cognitive training + active-tDCS 4 times per week (20 minutes per session, each (~25cm²; current density = 0.08 mA/cm²); anode on left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex F3, cathode on right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex F4) for four weeks.
Other: Active tDCS
cognitive training + active-tDCS tDCS twice a day (two 13 minute sessions per day, each 2mA / 25cm² = 0.08 current density; anode on left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex F3, cathode on right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex F4) for five consecutive days.
Sham Comparator: Cognitive training + sham-tDCS
Cognitive training + sham-tDCS 4 times per week (20 minutes per session, each ~25cm²; current density = 0.08 mA/cm²); anode on left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex F3, cathode on right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex F4) for four weeks.
Other: Sham tDCS
cognitive training + sham-tDCS tDCS twice a day (two 13 minute sessions per day, each 2mA / 25cm² = 0.08 current density; anode on left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex F3, cathode on right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex F4) for five consecutive days.

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
Cognitive improvement effects of WM training with active tDCS vs. sham
Time Frame: baseline and post-test assessment, 4 weeks
shown by WM task progression and performance on cognitive testing measures
baseline and post-test assessment, 4 weeks
Generalization of cognitive effects of active tDCS vs. sham
Time Frame: baseline and post-test assessment, 4 weeks
includes effect on PASC-related cognitive impairment symptoms
baseline and post-test assessment, 4 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.
University of Minnesota

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 (Anticipated)

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.
February 1, 2023

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.
September 1, 2023

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.
September 1, 2024

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 19, 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.
October 19, 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.
October 21, 2022

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.
March 13, 2023

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.
March 8, 2023

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.
March 1, 2023

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.
  • 30319 protocol

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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