Noninvasive Neuromodulation of the Prefrontal Cortex in Subjects With Obesity

Noninvasive Neuromodulation of the Prefrontal Cortex in Subjects With Obesity: a Proof-of-concept Study

The overall goal of this proposal is to evaluate the efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a noninvasive neuromodulation technique, to facilitate weight loss and weight loss maintenance in obesity. This is a novel clinical research study that examines the therapeutic potential of an innovative biomedical treatment for weight loss.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Obesity
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Active transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS); Other: Hypocaloric diet; Other: Sham transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)

Detailed Description

The hypothesis is that tDCS will successfully engage prefrontal-related neurobehavioral cognitive control systems, resulting in decreased eating disinhibition and therefore facilitation of weight loss and weight loss maintenance. To test this hypothesis, a 6-month randomized, sham-controlled, double-blind, intervention study was designed. Subjects will undergo an intervention with the following components/phases:

1. Phase 1 - Target engagement (one session) The purpose of this phase is to examine whether tDCS can reach the brain target, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and influence performance in a neuropsychology tests that depends on the activity of this region. Results from this component of the study will provide evidence for target engagement. Genomic DNA will be extracted from whole blood for sequencing of Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) polymorphism genotypes.
2. Phase 2 - tDCS alone (two weeks) During this phase participants will receive daily tDCS sessions over the course of two weeks (Monday to Friday; total=10 sessions). The purpose of this phase is to examine the effect of modulating the activity of the prefrontal cortex with tDCS on body weight under baseline/weight stable conditions. Also analyse changes in appetite and eating behavior.
3. Phase 3 - tDCS plus hypocaloric diet (two weeks). During this phase participants will undergo a hypocaloric diet intervention aimed at achieving a 5% body weight reduction at 3 months. The diet will be individualized on the basis of physical activity levels, age for each participant. This intervention will be be conducted at an inpatient, well-controlled setting to guarantee adherence to the diet. Here the diet intervention will be administered in combination with tDCS. tDCS will be applied every other day (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) over the course of these two weeks. The purpose of this component is to examine acute changes in weight associated with tDCS in combination with the diet. Also analyse changes in appetite and eating behavior.
4. Phase 4 - Follow up (6 months). During this phase (outpatient) changes in body weight over time will be assessed to evaluate weight maintenance. Subjects will be asked to come back to the laboratory at 1, 3 and 6 months. Also analyse changes in appetite and eating behavior.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 38
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Brazil
  • São Paulo
    • Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil, 14048-900
      • Clinical Hospital of Ribeirao Preto
• United States
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02215
      • Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02111-1524
      • Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 20 years to 40 years (ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Women with obesity (BMI 30-35 kg/m2), with stable weight over the previous 3 months.

Exclusion Criteria:

• pregnancy
• diabetes
• acute and chronic kidney disease
• pancreatitis
• any active psychiatric or neurological condition at the time of joining the study
• intake of centrally-acting medications that could interfere with tDCS effects
• anemia (Hgb <12 g/dl)
• any other significant medical condition
• contraindications for tDCS, which includes damaged skin at the site of stimulation, any electrically sensitive or metallic device and history of epilepsy

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: PARALLEL
• Masking: DOUBLE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Active group; Active transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and hypocaloric diet.	Device: Active transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS); Participants will receive 10 daily sessions (phase 2) and 3 times a week (phase 3) of tDCS (2mA, 30 min per session). The tDCS montage will target the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) (anode: F3 based on the 10:20 system; cathode over the right supraorbital area). For stimulation the investigators will use 5x5cm sponge pads that will be soaked in 0.9% saline during the sessions.; Other: Hypocaloric diet; During phase 3, participants will undergo a supervised hypocaloric diet intervention for 2 weeks based on a low-calorie diet (LCD) providing a hypocaloric diet based in 20% reduction from total energy expenditure (TEE). The diet will be individualized on the basis of physical activity levels, age for each participant. This intervention will be be conducted at an inpatient, well-controlled setting to guarantee adherence to the diet. Here the diet intervention will be administered in combination with tDCS. tDCS will be applied every other day (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) over the course of these two weeks.
SHAM_COMPARATOR: Control group; Sham transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and hypocaloric diet.	Other: Hypocaloric diet; During phase 3, participants will undergo a supervised hypocaloric diet intervention for 2 weeks based on a low-calorie diet (LCD) providing a hypocaloric diet based in 20% reduction from total energy expenditure (TEE). The diet will be individualized on the basis of physical activity levels, age for each participant. This intervention will be be conducted at an inpatient, well-controlled setting to guarantee adherence to the diet. Here the diet intervention will be administered in combination with tDCS. tDCS will be applied every other day (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) over the course of these two weeks.; Other: Sham transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS); Subjects in the control group will receive sham stimulation (placebo) (similar procedure and duration as real tDCS, but here electric current flows for 30 s only, to mimic the subjective sensations that occur with active tDCS).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Body weight	The primary outcome will be change in body weight after two weeks intervention (tDCS alone) versus baseline (day 1), the change in body weight between the beginning and the end of the inpatient period (tDCS plus hypocaloric diet), and the change in body weight throughout follow-up (6 months), i.e. between the end of the tDCS intervention (end of the inpatient phase) and the end of the study.	6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Appetite visual analogue scale	The investigators will analyse changes in appetite during the different phases of the study: phase 1 (target engagement), phase 2 (tDCS-only effect), phase 3 (tDCS plus diet effect), phase 4 (follow-up) using the visual analogue scale.	6 months
Eating behavior questionnaire	The investigators will analyse changes in eating behavior during the different phases of the study: phase 1 (target engagement), phase 2 (tDCS-only effect), phase 3 (tDCS plus diet effect), phase 4 (follow-up) using the three-factor eating and food craving questionnaires.	6 months
Cognitive performance in a food modified working memory test	The investigators will compare accuracy and reaction times before and after the 2 weeks with tDCS only. To evaluate working memory performance an N-back task will be used.	2 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Sao Paulo
• Collaborators: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo; USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Vivian MM Suen, MD PhD, University of Sao Paulo; Principal Investigator: Sai K Das, PhD, Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University; Principal Investigator: Miguel Alonso-Alonso, MD PhD, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Nitsche MA, Paulus W. Excitability changes induced in the human motor cortex by weak transcranial direct current stimulation. J Physiol. 2000 Sep 15;527 Pt 3(Pt 3):633-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7793.2000.t01-1-00633.x.
• Gandiga PC, Hummel FC, Cohen LG. Transcranial DC stimulation (tDCS): a tool for double-blind sham-controlled clinical studies in brain stimulation. Clin Neurophysiol. 2006 Apr;117(4):845-50. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2005.12.003. Epub 2006 Jan 19.
• Nitsche MA, Cohen LG, Wassermann EM, Priori A, Lang N, Antal A, Paulus W, Hummel F, Boggio PS, Fregni F, Pascual-Leone A. Transcranial direct current stimulation: State of the art 2008. Brain Stimul. 2008 Jul;1(3):206-23. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2008.06.004. Epub 2008 Jul 1.
• CREUTZFELDT OD, FROMM GH, KAPP H. Influence of transcortical d-c currents on cortical neuronal activity. Exp Neurol. 1962 Jun;5:436-52. doi: 10.1016/0014-4886(62)90056-0. No abstract available.
• Okamoto M, Dan H, Sakamoto K, Takeo K, Shimizu K, Kohno S, Oda I, Isobe S, Suzuki T, Kohyama K, Dan I. Three-dimensional probabilistic anatomical cranio-cerebral correlation via the international 10-20 system oriented for transcranial functional brain mapping. Neuroimage. 2004 Jan;21(1):99-111. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2003.08.026.
• Truong DQ, Magerowski G, Blackburn GL, Bikson M, Alonso-Alonso M. Computational modeling of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in obesity: Impact of head fat and dose guidelines. Neuroimage Clin. 2013 May 31;2:759-66. doi: 10.1016/j.nicl.2013.05.011. eCollection 2013.
• Truong DQ, Magerowski G, Pascual-Leone A, Alonso-Alonso M, Bikson M. Finite Element study of skin and fat delineation in an obese subject for transcranial Direct Current Stimulation. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2012;2012:6587-90. doi: 10.1109/EMBC.2012.6347504.
• Alonso-Alonso M. Translating tDCS into the field of obesity: mechanism-driven approaches. Front Hum Neurosci. 2013 Aug 27;7:512. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00512. eCollection 2013.
• Gluck ME, Alonso-Alonso M, Piaggi P, Weise CM, Jumpertz-von Schwartzenberg R, Reinhardt M, Wassermann EM, Venti CA, Votruba SB, Krakoff J. Neuromodulation targeted to the prefrontal cortex induces changes in energy intake and weight loss in obesity. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2015 Nov;23(11):2149-56. doi: 10.1002/oby.21313.
• Val-Laillet D, Aarts E, Weber B, Ferrari M, Quaresima V, Stoeckel LE, Alonso-Alonso M, Audette M, Malbert CH, Stice E. Neuroimaging and neuromodulation approaches to study eating behavior and prevent and treat eating disorders and obesity. Neuroimage Clin. 2015 Mar 24;8:1-31. doi: 10.1016/j.nicl.2015.03.016. eCollection 2015.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): June 12, 2017
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): September 3, 2018
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): March 29, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 17, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 31, 2016
• First Posted (ESTIMATE): November 2, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): January 22, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 20, 2021
• Last Verified: January 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Obesity; Weight loss; Feeding behavior; Transcranial direct current stimulation
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Overnutrition; Nutrition Disorders; Overweight; Body Weight; Obesity
• Other Study ID Numbers: Process HCRP: 8463/2016

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: Yes