Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) in Chronic Corneal Pain

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

Neural Correlates of Pain-related Cognitive Processing in Chronic Pain of the Cornea: an ERP and Electrical Stimulation Study.

In this study the investigators aim to examine the effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on pain levels as well as the changes in cognitive (thought) processing in individuals with chronic pain of the cornea -- and also compared with healthy controls.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

26

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, 02114
        • 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 65 years (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria (for all subjects):

  1. Provide informed consent to participate in the study;
  2. 18 to 65 years old;

Additional Inclusion Criteria for Subjects with Chronic Corneal Pain:

  1. Corneal pain for six months or more;
  2. Referral from a corneal specialist (Dr. Perry Rosenthal) with refractoriness to conventional ophthalmologic treatments for corneal pain such as local topical medications and soft bandage contact lenses;
  3. Report a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain of 4 or greater in the previous 3 weeks;

Exclusion Criteria (for all subjects):

  1. History of alcohol or substance abuse within the last 6 months as self-reported;
  2. Diagnosis of any neurological diseases (such as epilepsy);
  3. Episodes of seizures within the last 6 months;
  4. Unexplained loss of consciousness
  5. Use of carbamazepine or neuropsychotropic drugs

  6. Contraindications to tDCS

    • Metal in the head
    • Implanted brain medical devices
  7. Pregnant at time of enrollment

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: BASIC_SCIENCE
  • Allocation: RANDOMIZED
  • Interventional Model: CROSSOVER
  • Masking: DOUBLE

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Active tDCS
Subjects will undergo 20 minutes of active tDCS stimulation.
Device: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS)
Subjects will undergo 2 sessions of 20 minutes of tDCS stimulation (either active or sham)in a randomized order - each session will be separated by at least one week to prevent carry-over effects.
Other Names:
  • 1x1 direct current stimulator; Soterix Medical
SHAM_COMPARATOR: Sham tDCS
Subjects will undergo 20 minutes of sham tDCS stimulation.
Device: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS)
Subjects will undergo 2 sessions of 20 minutes of tDCS stimulation (either active or sham)in a randomized order - each session will be separated by at least one week to prevent carry-over effects.
Other Names:
  • 1x1 direct current stimulator; Soterix Medical

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Changes in pain scales
Time Frame: Measured for approximately 2 weeks
We will measure changes in the visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain, and also measure pain threshold (using an algometer) before and after each stimulation session. We will compare the measurements from before stimulation to after stimulation, in each scheduled session, as this study is measuring the effects of a single session of tDCS.
Measured for approximately 2 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Changes in EEG measurements
Time Frame: Measured for approximately 2 weeks
We will measure changes in event related potentials (ex. P300, mismatch negativity) recorded via electroencephalography (EEG) before and after each stimulation session. We will compare the measurements from before stimulation to after stimulation, in each scheduled session, as this study is measuring the effects of a single session of tDCS.
Measured for approximately 2 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

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

January 1, 2012

Primary Completion (ACTUAL)

September 1, 2015

Study Completion (ACTUAL)

September 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 8, 2012

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 9, 2012

First Posted (ESTIMATE)

April 10, 2012

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

  • 2011-p-001902

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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