Multichannel tDCS to Reduce Hypertonia in Patients With Prolonged DOC

January 4, 2019 updated by: Aurore Thibaut, University of Liege

Effects of Multichannel Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation to Reduce Hypertonia in Patients With Prolonged Disorders of Consciousness: a Pilot Study.

Previous studies showed that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) transiently improves performance of motor function in stroke patients, as well as decrease muscle hypertonia. In severely brain injured patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC), a single stimulation over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex has shown to improve patients' sign of consciousness. Nevertheless, other brain areas could be stimulated in order to manage other symptoms occurring in this population of patients, such as muscle hypertonia. In this study, investigators will assess the effects of bilateral fronto-central tDCS on spasticity as measured with the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) and on the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R) scores in patients with DOC in a double-blind sham-controlled experimental design.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Following severe brain damage and coma, some patients may remain in a vegetative state (VS) or minimally conscious state (MCS). At present, there are no evidence-based guidelines regarding the treatment of patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC). A previous study showed that a single stimulation (using transcranial direct current stimulation - tDCS) of the left prefrontal cortex induces an behavioral improvement in some patients in DOC. Nevertheless, patients with DOC suffer from other invalidating dysfunctions such as spasticity (muscle hypertonia). In sroke patients, the inhibition of the motor cortex through cathodes placed over the motor region showed to reduce spasticity.

In this study, investigators aim to assess the effect of single session of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over right and left fronto-central areas (using 2 anodes and 2 cathodes), on the level of hypertonia and the level of consciousness of patients with DOC, in a double blind randomized sham controlled study. The anodes will be placed over F3 and F4, and the cathodes over C3 and C4.

tDCS is a form of safe non-invasive cortical stimulation, modulating cortical excitability under the electrodes, via weak polarizing currents. It has been reported that anodal tDCS transiently improves motor functions in healthy subjects and patients with stroke or Parkinson's disease.

By reducing the activity of the motor cortex (cathodes) and increasing the activity of the prefrontal cortex (anodes) we expect to observe a better motor function in patients with DOC.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

17

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

  • Belgium
      • Liege, Belgium, 4000
        • University of Liège

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

16 years to 75 years (Child, Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • post comatose patients
  • patients in minimally conscious state
  • patients with stable condition
  • patients free of sedative drugs and Na+ or Ca++ blockers (e.g., carbamazepine) or NMDA receptor antagonist (e.g., dextromethorphan)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • premorbid neurology antecedent
  • patients in coma
  • patients < 28 days after the acute brain injury
  • patients with a metallic cerebral implant
  • cranioplasty
  • shunt

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: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: active tDCS
Patients will receive tDCS (bilateral fronto-central stimulation) during 20 minutes preceded and followed by a clinical assessment (Modified Ashworth Scale and Coma Recovery Scale-Revised) and neurophysiological assessment (8 channels EEG).
Device: tDCS
tDCS will be applied during 20 minutes with a current of 1 mA preceded and followed by a behavioral assessments (Modified Ashworth Scale and Coma Recovery Scale Revised) and an EEG. The anodes will be placed over F3 and F4 and the cathodes over C3 and C4.
Sham Comparator: sham tDCS
Patients will receive sham tDCS (5 seconds of stimulation) during 20 minutes preceded and followed by a clinical assessment (Modified Ashworth Scale and Coma Recovery Scale-Revised) and neurophysiological assessment (8 channels EEG).
Device: sham tDCS
Indentical to the active tDCS, except that the stimulation is terminated after 5 seconds.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in MAS scores
Time Frame: baseline and directly after tDCS (20 minutes)
Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) will by assessed before and after tDCS (active and sham). Comparison of treatment effect (MAS score after tDCS minus before) between active and sham tDCS. The MAS is a 5 points scale going from 0 (no spasticity) and 5 (extreme spasticity).
baseline and directly after tDCS (20 minutes)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in the CRS-R total score
Time Frame: Baseline and directly after the tDCS (20 minutes)]
Coma Recovery Scale Revised (CRS-R) will be performed before and after tDCS (anodal and sham). Comparison of the treatment effect (CRS-R total score score after tDCS minus before) between real and sham tDCS. The CRS-R is 23 points scale with 6 sub-scales (lower scores refer to reflexes, while higher scores refer to more complex behaviors). The total score is the sum of the scores in the 6 sub-scales.
Baseline and directly after the tDCS (20 minutes)]
Change in brain oscillations
Time Frame: Baseline and directly after the tDCS (20 minutes)
8 channels electroencephalography (EEG) will be record before and after tDCS to record potential cortical changes induce by the stimulation. EEG power will be compared in different bandwidths (delta, theta, alpha, beta).
Baseline and directly after the tDCS (20 minutes)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Liege

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 (Actual)

January 20, 2014

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 28, 2014

Study Completion (Actual)

December 13, 2017

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 3, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 4, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

January 9, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 9, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 4, 2019

Last Verified

January 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2014/280B

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

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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