Single-arm, Open-label, Phase II Trial of HD-tDCS in Fibromyalgia Patients

April 23, 2020 updated by: Felipe Fregni, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital
The purpose of this study is to investigate the mean number of stimulation (high definition-transcranial direct current stimulation) sessions (up to 26) needed to achieve a clinical response with this response defined as a 50% decrease in Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain. These data will be important in defining the optimal number of sessions for future fibromyalgia subjects in Phase III trials.

Study Overview

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

20

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

    • Massachusetts
      • Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States, 02129
        • 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 85 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Providing informed consent to participate in the study
  • 18 to 85 years old, both male and female
  • Have a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia
  • Existing pain for more than 3 months with an average of at least 4 on a 0-10 VAS scale
  • Pain resistant to common analgesics and medications for chronic pain such as Tylenol, Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Soma, Parafon Forte DCS, Zanaflex and Codeine.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pregnancy
  • Contraindications to tDCS: metal in the head or implanted brain medical devices
  • History of alcohol or drug abuse within the past 6 months as self-reported
  • Use of carbamazepine within the past 6 months as self-reported
  • Severe depression (with a score of >30 in the Beck Depression Inventory)
  • Any history of epilepsy, stroke, moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury or severe migraines
  • History of unexplained fainting spells as self-reported
  • Neurosurgery as self-reported

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: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Active anodal HD-tDCS
Subjects will undergo 20 minutes active HD-tDCS.
Other Names:
  • 4X1 low-intensity direct current stimulator

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Mean number of sessions needed to achieve 50% decrease in Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)
Time Frame: approximately 4.5 months
Investigate the mean number of sessions (up to 26) needed to achieve clinical response associated with the use of HD-tDCS over the primary motor cortex (M1), with response defined at a 50% decrease in baseline Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain.
approximately 4.5 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of subjects who achieve clinical response
Time Frame: Approximately 4.5 months
We will count the number of subjects who achieve clinical response (as defined in Aim 1 as a 50% reduction in baseline VAS) for the duration of the trial.
Approximately 4.5 months
Measurement of sensory and auditory evoked potentials
Time Frame: Approximately 4.5 months
We will measure brain pain response using electroencephalography (EEG) to measure somatosensory Event Related Potentials (ERPs) with a heat pain threshold device. We will also measure auditory ERPs. We will investigate the relationship between these ERP measurements and overall clinical response of patients (as outlined in Aim 1 and Aim 2)
Approximately 4.5 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

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 (Actual)

March 1, 2013

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2014

Study Completion (Actual)

June 7, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 18, 2013

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 24, 2013

First Posted (Estimate)

April 29, 2013

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

Drug and device information, study documents

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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