The Dose Finding Study of DAOIB Added to tDCS for AD

The Dose Finding Study of Sodium Benzoate Added to tDCS for the Treatment of Early-phase Alzheimer's Disease

This is a 26-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. We will enroll patients with aMCI or mild AD. All patients will receive 2 weeks of tDCS (5 sessions per week, 10 sessions in total) during the first 2 weeks of the study, and will also be allocated randomly to either of 4 treatment groups for 24 weeks: (1) Dose A group; (2) Dose B group; (3) Dose C group; (4) placebo group. We will assess the patients every 8 weeks during the treatment period (weeks 0, 10, 18, and 26). We hypothesize that augmentation with certain dose of DAOIB will yield better effect than tDCS alone in improving the cognitive function, global functioning and quality of life in patients with aMCI or mild AD.

Study Overview

• Status: Suspended
• Conditions: Dementia; Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: DAOIB

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 140
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Taiwan
  • Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, 886
    • Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 50 years to 100 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment
• MMSE between 10-26
• CDR 1 or 0.5

Exclusion Criteria:

• Hachinski Ischemic Score > 4
• Substance abuse/dependence
• Parkinson disease, epilepsy, dementia with psychotic features
• Major depressive disorder
• Major physical illnesses
• Severe visual or hearing impairment

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Quadruple

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: tDCS+Dose A; Drug: DAOIB at dose A The DAOIB dose will be fixed during the 24 weeks duration. Device: tDCS tDCS	Drug: DAOIB; The DAOIB dose in each group will be fixed during the 24 weeks duration
Experimental: tDCS+Dose B; Drug: DAOIB at dose B The DAOIB dose will be fixed during the 24 weeks duration. Device: tDCS tDCS	Drug: DAOIB; The DAOIB dose in each group will be fixed during the 24 weeks duration
Experimental: tDCS+Dose C; Drug: DAOIB at dose C The DAOIB dose will be fixed during the 24 weeks duration. Device: tDCS tDCS	Drug: DAOIB; The DAOIB dose in each group will be fixed during the 24 weeks duration
Placebo Comparator: tDCS+placebo; Drug: Placebo Placebo Device: tDCS tDCS	Drug: DAOIB; The DAOIB dose in each group will be fixed during the 24 weeks duration

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change from baseline in the Alzheimer's disease assessment scale - cognitive subscale at week 10, 18 and 26	Alzheimer's disease assessment scale-cognitive subscale scores range from 0 (best) to 70 (worst)	week 0, 10, 18, 26

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change from baseline in Clinician's Interview-Based Impression of Change plus Caregiver Input score at week 10, 18 and 26	Change from baseline in Clinician's Interview-Based Impression of Change plus Caregiver Input score at week 10, 18 and 26	week 10, 18, 26
Change from baseline in Mini-Mental Status examination score at week 10, 18 and 26	Change from baseline in Mini-Mental Status examination score at week 10, 18 and 26	week 0, 10, 18, 26
Change from baseline in Alzheimer's disease Cooperative Study scale for ADL in MCI (ADCS-MCI-ADL) score at week 10, 18 and 26	The assessment appears to be a suitable instrument for evaluating activities of daily living in early-phase dementia. Its scores range from 0 (worst) to 78 (best)	week 0, 10, 18, 26
Change from baseline in Quality of life score at week 10, 18 and 26	Quality of life will be assessed by Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form-36 (SF-36). The SF-36 consists of eight sections: (1) vitality, (2) physical functioning, (3) bodily pain, (4) general health perceptions, (5) physical role functioning, (6) emotional role functioning, (7) social role functioning, and (8) mental health.	week 0, 10, 18, 26
Change from baseline in the composite score of a battery of additional cognitive tests at week 26	The battery of additional cognitive tests include speed of processing (Category Fluency), working memory (Wechsler Memory Scale, Spatial Span), verbal/nonverbal learning and memory tests (Wechsler Memory Scale, Word Listing).	week 0, 26

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Chang Gung Memorial Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): January 1, 2027
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 9, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 9, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): August 16, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 20, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 18, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Mental Disorders; Neurocognitive Disorders; Dementia
• Other Study ID Numbers: 202002208A0

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