Parkinson's Disease: Enhancing Physical Therapy With Brain Stimulation for Treating Postural Instability.

This trial aims to understand the mechanism and to test whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) combined with transcranial ultrasound (TUS) (tDCS+TUS) combined with physical therapy (PT) will induce significant therapeutic effects in postural instability in Parkinson's disease (PT) patients. The investigators designed a double-blinded, placebo controlled, randomized study to investigate the effects of 2 weeks of TDCS+TUS on postural instability in PD patients receiving PT. (Followed by biweekly sessions for 2 more weeks in Phase II)

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Parkinson Disease
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Active Comparator: Active tDCS and Active TUS; Other: Physical Therapy; Device: Sham Comparator: Sham TDCS and Sham TUS

Detailed Description

Current treatments for Parkinson's Disease (PD), including pharmacological (levodopa) and surgical (DBS) methods, have limited impact on postural instability. Physical therapy (PT) for PD is becoming increasingly used as a means to induce benefits on patient balance. However, limits in efficacy and consistency still exist. In this study, the investigators will test the effects of TDCS+TUS combined with PT on postural instability of PD patients.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 40
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Massachusetts
    • Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States, 02129
      • Spaulding Rehabilitation Network Research Institute

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 40 years to 90 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Diagnosis of "probable" or "possible" PD, as defined by the current clinical criteria (Gelb D, Oliver E, Gilman S. Diagnostic Criteria for Parkinson's Disease. Arch Neurol.1999;56:33-39) as confirmed by co-investigator neurologist, or confirmation via medical records or a letter from patient physician;
2. Complaints about balance impairment or postural instability due to PD (self-report);
3. Age from 40 to 90 years old;
4. Taking stable medications for PD for at least 30 days.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Features suggestive of other causes of parkinsonism/Parkinson's-plus syndromes;
2. History of deep brain stimulation or brain ablation surgeries, malignant mass brain lesions;
3. History of schizophrenia, bipolar illness; history of alcohol/drug abuse within the past 6 months;
4. Need for rapid clinical response due to conditions such as initiation, psychosis, or suicidality;
5. Contraindications to transcranial brain stimulation or TUS, i.e. metal in the head, implanted brain medical devices, etc.;
6. Unstable medical conditions (e.g., uncontrolled diabetes, uncompensated cardiac issues, heart failure, uncompensated pulmonary disease, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease);
7. Pregnancy.
8. Epilepsy or disorders that significantly increase likelihood of seizures including: severe traumatic brain injury, congenital birth defects leading to seizures, brain tumor, metabolic disorders associated with seizures, intracranial or subarachnoid hemorrhage, and nonlacunar strokes.
9. Recent (<= 2 months) or planned enrollment in an additional physician prescribed physical therapy program during their time in the trial.
10. Presence of another disorder that might have a significant impact on balance (as assessed by a co-investigator neurologist).
11. Bed or wheelchair-bound

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Active tDCS and Active TUS; Active tDCS and Active TUS for 20 min	Device: Active Comparator: Active tDCS and Active TUS; Device: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) Subjects will receive 20 minutes of either active or sham tDCS at intensity of 2mA. The anodal electrode will be placed over the primary motor cortex contralateral to the most painful side, and the cathodal electrode will be placed over the contralateral supraorbital area. In the sham group, the tDCS device will not be active for the full 20 minutes. Device: Transcranial Ultrasound (TUS) Subjects will receive 20 minutes of either active or sham TUS. During active stimulation the ultrasound will be active for the full 20 minutes- however, during sham stimulation the ultrasound will not be active for the full 20 minutes.; Other: Physical Therapy; All subjects will enroll in a conventional PT balance and gait focused training program, and will receive PT 3x/week over the two weeks of stimulation for 45 minutes following the stimulation sessions when applicable. (And during the biweekly sessions for Phase II)
Sham Comparator: Sham TDCS and Sham TUS; Sham TDCS and Sham TUS for 20 min	Other: Physical Therapy; All subjects will enroll in a conventional PT balance and gait focused training program, and will receive PT 3x/week over the two weeks of stimulation for 45 minutes following the stimulation sessions when applicable. (And during the biweekly sessions for Phase II); Device: Sham Comparator: Sham TDCS and Sham TUS; Device: SHAM Comparator Device: transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) Subjects will receive 20 minutes of either active or sham tDCS at intensity of 2mA. The anodal electrode will be placed over the primary motor cortex contralateral to the most painful side, and the cathodal electrode will be placed over the contralateral supraorbital area. In the sham group, the tDCS device will not be active for the full 20 minutes. Device: Transcranial Ultrasound (TUS) Subjects will receive 20 minutes of either active or sham TUS. During active stimulation the ultrasound will be active for the full 20 minutes- however, during sham stimulation the ultrasound will not be active for the full 20 minutes.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Improvement in Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) Part III	Motor function was assessed using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) Part III - Motor Examination, which measures tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia, postural instability, and gait. Scores range from 0 to 108, where higher scores indicate worse motor impairment (i.e., lower scores represent better motor function).	Change from baseline to Day 14 (end of stimulation treatment).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS)	Motor function (including tremor, bradykinesia, postural instability and gait), non-motor symptoms, activities of daily living and complications of therapy will be investigated per UPDRS (parts I-IV); staging of PD and ability to perform activities of daily living will also be investigated via UPDRS parts V and VI. We already have experience using this assessment in several previous brain stimulation PD studies.	1 week pre intervention, immediately before intervention, following stimulation treatment (stimulation day 5, 10 and 14), and all follow ups
Leg Agility	kinematic changes will be assessed with kinematic metrics (e.g., speed (m/s)) taken with a biomechanical assessment suite throughout the study.	1 week pre intervention, immediately before intervention, following stimulation treatment (stimulation day 5, 10 and 14), and all follow ups
Arising from a chair	kinematic changes will be assessed with kinematic metrics (e.g., time to complete task) taken with a biomechanical assessment suite throughout the study.	1 week pre intervention, immediately before intervention, following stimulation treatment (stimulation day 5, 10 and 14), and all follow ups
Balance	kinematic changes will be assessed with kinematic metrics taken during a modified Romberg exam (e.g., change in center of pressure over a fixed time interval (cm)) with a biomechanical assessment suite throughout the study.	1 week pre intervention, immediately before intervention, following stimulation treatment (stimulation day 5, 10 and 14), and all follow ups
Gait	changes in the walking speed, gait asymmetry, stride length, walking smoothness, and gait freezing kinematic characteristics (e.g., m/s) will be assessed with a biomechanical assessment suite throughout the study	1 week pre intervention, immediately before intervention, following stimulation treatment (stimulation day 5, 10 and 14), and all follow ups
Toe tapping	kinematic changes will be assessed with kinematic metrics (e.g., speed (m/s)) taken with a biomechanical assessment suite throughout the study.	1 week pre intervention, immediately before intervention, following stimulation treatment (stimulation day 5, 10 and 14), and all follow ups

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital
• Collaborators: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS); Highland Instruments, Inc.
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Felipe Fregni, MD, PhD, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 23, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 30, 2024
• Study Completion (Estimated): October 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 28, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 7, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): June 10, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 3, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 18, 2026
• Last Verified: February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Synucleinopathies; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Movement Disorders; Parkinsonian Disorders; Basal Ganglia Diseases; Parkinson Disease; Therapeutics; Rehabilitation; Physical Therapy Modalities
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2018P002733; R44NS110237 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Drug and device information, study documents

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