Spaulding-Harvard Model System: Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on Chronic Pain in Spinal Cord Injury

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

Spaulding-Harvard Spinal Cord Injury (SH-SCI) Study: Effects of tDCS on Chronic Pain in Spinal Cord Injury.

The purpose of this study is to see the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on the pain associated with spinal cord injury. This study is part of the Spaulding-Harvard Model System. The investigators hypothesize that there will be a decrease in pain levels with active stimulation, when compared to sham stimulation, using a 3 week stimulation schedule- 1 week of stimulation (5 consecutive days) followed by 2 weeks of stimulation (10 consecutive days) after a 3-month follow up visit. The subject will also have follow ups at 2, 4 and 8 weeks after the second course of stimulation.

If a subject receives sham during the experiment, he/she may enroll in an open-label portion of the study and receive 10 days of active stimulation.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

46

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 and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Over 18 years of age
  • History of moderate to severe sublesional pain

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Active alcohol or drug dependence, as self-reported
  • A history of bipolar disorder or psychosis, as self-reported
  • Inability to travel to the study site,
  • Current use of any of the following anti-epileptic medications or dopaminergic medications known to reduce or inhibit the benefits of tDCS treatment [53]: carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine, phenytoin, ropinirole (Requip), pramipexole (Mirapex), and cabergoline (Dostinex),
  • The following contradictions to tDCS: implanted metal plates in the head, or deep brain stimulator (spinal cord implants, including baclofen pumps, are not a contraindication as cranial currents do not reach the spinal cord [24]).
  • Pregnancy at time of enrollment
  • Current use of ventilator.

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: Active tDCS
Subjects will undergo 20 minutes active tDCS.
Device: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)
Subjects will undergo 15 sessions of tDCS stimulation (either active or sham), 1x per day at 20 minutes per session.
Other Names:
  • 1x1 low-intensity direct current stimulator
  • Soterix Medical
Sham Comparator: Sham tDCS
Subjects will undergo 20 minutes of sham stimulation.
Device: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)
Subjects will undergo 15 sessions of tDCS stimulation (either active or sham), 1x per day at 20 minutes per session.
Other Names:
  • 1x1 low-intensity direct current stimulator
  • Soterix Medical

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Pain Scale
Time Frame: Measured for approximately 6 months
Determine whether anodal transcranial direct current stimulation is effective in reducing pain in subjects with chronic sublesional neuropathic pain due to spinal cord injury, as measured by changes in the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) from baseline to follow-up (up to 2 months after the final stimulation session).
Measured for approximately 6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Changes in Quality of Life Scale
Time Frame: Measured for approximately 6 months
Determine whether anodal transcranial direct current stimulation is effective in increasing quality of life in subjects with chronic neuropathic sublesional pain due to spinal cord injury, as measured by changes in the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), from baseline to follow-up (up to 2 months after the final stimulation session).
Measured for approximately 6 months
Changes in Mood Scale
Time Frame: Measured for approximately 6 months
Determine whether anodal transcranial direct current stimulation is effective in improving mood in subjects with chronic neuropathic sublesional pain due to spinal cord injury, as measured by changes in the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ9), from baseline to follow-up (up to 2 months after the final stimulation session).
Measured for approximately 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital

Collaborators

U.S. Department of Education

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

December 1, 2011

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2016

Study Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 8, 2012

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 14, 2012

First Posted (Estimate)

May 16, 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-002353

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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