Application of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) in Patients With Chronic Pain After Spinal Cord Injury

April 23, 2020 updated by: Felipe Fregni, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital

Investigation of the Mechanisms of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation of Motor Cortex for the Treatment of Chronic Pain in Spinal Cord Injury

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the novel treatment of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) could decrease the pain perception of those with spinal cord injury.

We will also determine whether these changes are correlated with the clinical outcome (pain reduction).

Study Overview

Status

Terminated

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The active tDCS stimulation sessions will be compared to sham stimulation.

More study details will be provided by Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

24

Phase

  • 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

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115
        • Spaulding Rehabilitation 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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 64 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA (similar to the criteria of the Interstitial Cystitis Network)

  1. Providing informed consent to participate in the study
  2. 18 to 64 years old
  3. with traumatic spinal cord injury (complete or incomplete) - for instance, due to fall, car accident or gun shot; (for spinal cord injury only)
  4. stable chronic pain for at least the three preceding months(for spinal cord injury only)
  5. score higher or equal to 4cm (0 cm= 'no pain' and 10cm='worst possible pain') on the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain perception at the baseline/start of the treatment(for spinal cord injury only)
  6. refractoriness to drugs for pain relieve - such as tricyclic antidepressants, antiepileptic drugs and/or narcotics (pain resistant to at least 2 of these drugs supplied in adequate dosages for six months) (for spinal cord injury only)
  7. pain is not attributable to other causes, such as peripheral inflammation.
  8. No clinically significant or unstable medical or psychiatric disorder
  9. No history of substance abuse
  10. No neuropsychiatric comorbidity
  11. No implanted devices for pain control, such as vagal or deep brain stimulators

  12. No contraindications to tDCS:

    • metal in the head
    • implanted brain medical devices
  13. No pregnancy
  14. Eligible to MRI according to MRI screening checklist.
  15. No use of ventilators

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: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: tDCS/Spinal cord injury
Subjects will be randomized to receive 10 sessions of either active or sham tDCS. Stimulation will be given on consecutive days (Monday- Friday) at 2 mA over the primary motor cortex area.
Device: Transcranial direct current stimulation
Stimulation will be applied at 2 mA for a total of 20 minutes.
Other Names:
  • electrical stimulation, tDCS
Experimental: tDCS/Healthy subjects
Subjects will receive 2 sessions of stimulation: one active and one sham tDCS on two separate visits. The order in which they receive the stimulation will be randomized. Stimulation parameters will be at 2 mA for a total of 20 minutes.
Device: Transcranial direct current stimulation
Stimulation will be applied at 2 mA for a total of 20 minutes.
Other Names:
  • electrical stimulation, tDCS

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Neurophysiological activity changes after treatment with tDCS
Time Frame: baseline, 2 weeks treatment and follow up (2 weeks)
Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), electroencephalogram (EEG), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
baseline, 2 weeks treatment and follow up (2 weeks)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pain changes
Time Frame: Baseline, 2 weeks treatment and follow up (2 weeks)
(i) Demographic Data; (ii) Visual analog scale (VAS) for pain; (iii) Analgesic use; (iv) Quality of Life Scale (QOLS); (v) Patient Global Assessment (PGA); (vi) Clinical Global Impression (CGI); (vii) Beck Depression Inventory (BDI); (viii) Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for anxiety; (ix) tDCS Side Effects Questionnaire; (x) Mini-mental status exam; and (xi) Validation of Blinding
Baseline, 2 weeks treatment and follow up (2 weeks)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Felipe Fregni, PhD, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital

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

April 1, 2010

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 14, 2013

Study Completion (Actual)

August 14, 2013

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 20, 2010

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 27, 2010

First Posted (Estimate)

April 28, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 24, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 23, 2020

Last Verified

April 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2010p000190

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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