TMS Stimulation and Cognitive Training in Alzheimer Patients

March 26, 2013 updated by: Neuronix Ltd

Effects of a Combined TMS Stimulation and Cognitive Training in Alzheimer Patients: a Single-center, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study

The aim of this study is to examine if combined treatment with TMS and cognitive training (CoTra) for several weeks can produce a sustained improvement in cognitive and behavioral symptomatology of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Detailed Description

The current available pharmaceutical treatment for Alzheimer Disease (AD) is only partially and temporary effective. Therefore, new approaches are needed. rTMS is a non-invasive technique which generates a small electric current that induces a modulation in cortical excitability. In addition, cognitive training was suggested to improve cognitive functions in Alzheimer patients.

In this study we intend to treat mild to moderate AD patients with rTMS interlaced with cognitive training (rTMS- COG).

Patients with probable AD will be treated with rTMS-COG daily for 6 weeks followed by maintenance sessions for additional 3 months.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

15

Phase

  • Phase 1

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

      • Beer Yaakov, Israel, 70300
        • Assaf-Harofeh Medical Center

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

55 years to 85 years (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Male or female age 55-85 years
  • Patients diagnosed with early or moderate stage of Alzheimer's disease, according to the DSM-IV criteria.
  • MMSE score 18 to 24
  • Global Dementia rating 1 or 2
  • Physically acceptable for the study as confirmed by medical history and exam, clinical laboratory results and EKG
  • Spouse, family member or professional caregiver agree and capable of taking care and responsibility for the participation of the patient in the study (answering questions regarding the patient's condition and assuming responsibility for medication)
  • Written informed consent by both patient and legally responsible caregiver.
  • Able to undergo MRI scan and EEG recordings prior to the onset of the study.
  • Agreement to participate in up to 9 months the study.
  • Right handed
  • Hebrew or Russian as mother tongue and/or ability to read and understand the inform consent form (ICF), and the Patient Information document in Hebrew or Russian.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Severe agitation;
  • Mental retardation;
  • Unstable medical condition;
  • Use of benzodiazepines or other hypnotics during the study and preceding two weeks;
  • Pharmacological immunosuppression;
  • Participation in a clinical trial with any investigational agent within two weeks prior to study enrollment;
  • Alcoholism;
  • History of Epileptic Seizures or Epilepsy;
  • Contraindication for performing MRI scanning;
  • Contraindication for receiving TMS treatment according to a TMS questionnaire;
  • Clinically significant abnormal laboratory findings which have not been approved by the Principle Investigator;
  • Patients treated with cholinesterase inhibitors, or memantine or ginko-biloba will be allowed to participate, if the treatment has started at least 2 months previous to recruited.

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
  • Masking: QUADRUPLE

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: NICE-System NeuroAD
Treatment Group
TMS combined with cognitive training
SHAM_COMPARATOR: Sham-TMS
Control Group
sham TMS and sham cognitive training
Other Names:
  • NICE-System

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
A significant improvement and/or improvement of at least 2 points on ADAS-COG of the Treatment Group in comparison with the Placebo Group after 6 weeks of treatment.
Time Frame: pre-treatment, 6, and 18 weeks
pre-treatment, 6, and 18 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Safety profile: rate of device and/or procedure related adverse events.
Time Frame: weekly
weekly

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Martin Rabey, Prof., Assaf-Harofeh Medical Center

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.

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

January 1, 2010

Primary Completion (ACTUAL)

September 1, 2011

Study Completion (ACTUAL)

September 1, 2011

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 22, 2010

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 22, 2010

First Posted (ESTIMATE)

July 23, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE)

March 28, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 26, 2013

Last Verified

March 1, 2013

More Information

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.

Clinical Trials on Alzheimer Disease

Clinical Trials on NICE-System

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