Novel Brain Stimulation Treatment for Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Alzheimer's Disease

May 5, 2026 updated by: Ricardo Jorge, MD, Baylor College of Medicine

Sequential Accelerated ITBS / Remote tDCS for Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Alzheimer's Disease: A Pilot Study

The goal of this pilot study is to test a combination of two non-invasive brain stimulation methods, called iTBS (intermittent theta burst stimulation) and tDCS (transcranial direct current stimulation), in people with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and related dementias (ADRD). This study will also explore whether the combined treatment shows promise for reducing neuropsychiatric symptoms like mood swings, apathy, and agitation, and will evaluate the impact of the treatment on caregivers.

The main questions the study aims to answer are:

  1. Is the combined brain stimulation treatment practical and well-tolerated?
  2. Do preliminary results suggest that this treatment could help manage neuropsychiatric symptoms and support a larger study?

Participants will:

  • Attend nine in-person visits over three months.
  • Complete one week of in-clinic brain stimulation sessions (iTBS) followed by four weeks of daily at-home brain stimulation sessions (tDCS).
  • Take part in brain scans, questionnaires, and brain activity tests before and after the treatment.

This pilot study is a first step to assess whether this combined treatment approach is practical and whether it has potential to improve symptoms, laying the groundwork for larger studies in the future.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study is designed to explore a new way to manage behavioral and emotional symptoms in people with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and related dementias (ADRD). Many people with these conditions experience mood swings, apathy, or agitation, which can be difficult to treat with current medications due to limited effectiveness and side effects. This research is testing whether two types of brain stimulation, called iTBS (intermittent theta burst stimulation) and tDCS (transcranial direct current stimulation), can be combined to provide a non-invasive and potentially effective treatment for these symptoms.

Brain stimulation is already used in other areas of medicine and involves applying gentle magnetic or electrical stimulation to the brain. iTBS uses short bursts of magnetic pulses, while tDCS uses a low electrical current. Both methods are painless, safe, and do not require surgery. This study is the first to look at combining these two techniques for people with AD/ADRD, based on findings from other research that suggest the combination might have stronger effects than either method alone.

Since this is a pilot study, the focus is on understanding whether the treatment process is practical for both patients and caregivers. This includes evaluating how easy it is for participants to attend the clinic sessions, whether caregivers can successfully administer the at-home treatments, and whether the overall process is manageable for families. In addition to these practical questions, researchers will also collect preliminary data to see if the treatment helps improve behavioral symptoms and measure any changes in the brain using scans and brain activity tests.

Participants will spend one week receiving treatments in a clinic and four weeks using a portable device for at-home sessions. Researchers will closely monitor participants throughout the study to ensure safety and will follow up to see if any improvements last after the treatment ends.

The study is an important step in understanding whether this new approach has potential to help people with AD/ADRD and whether it should be studied further in larger trials. It also aims to identify how to make the treatment process as smooth and effective as possible for patients and caregivers.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

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 Contact

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Texas
      • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
        • Recruiting
        • Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center
        • Contact:
          • Lane Witkowski
          • Phone Number: 206-419-1261

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

  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion criteria

  1. veteran between the ages of 60 to 85
  2. clinical diagnosis of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease or related dementia
  3. clinically significant neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) evidenced by a score ≥ 2 in at least one domain of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire
  4. mild to moderate cognitive impairment demonstrated by a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score of 15-23
  5. have a caregiver who is able and willing to escort the patient to/from clinic visits, answer questionnaires, and assist in the implementation of treatment sessions at home
  6. if taking psychotropic medications, demonstrate stability for at least 4 weeks of treatment

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. any contraindication for MRI
  2. any contraindication for iTBS/tDCS including but not limited to seizure disorder, severe cardiovascular disease, history of brain surgery, or stroke involving the cerebral cortex near area of stimulation
  3. current alcohol or substance use disorder determined by QuickSCID (nicotine allowed; mild cannabis and alcohol use is allowed)
  4. neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) that are severe enough to preclude the intervention from being delivered safely and effectively, particularly agitation or aggression.

6) any unstable coexisting medical condition that in the opinion of the principal investigator(s) interferes with the treatment protocol or increase the likelihood of adverse events.

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
Other: Brain Stimulation
Participants will receive a combination of two non-invasive brain stimulation treatments. During the first week, iTBS sessions will be administered in-clinic for five consecutive days, using magnetic pulses to target brain areas associated with neuropsychiatric symptoms. This is followed by four weeks of daily, self-administered tDCS at home, delivering a low electrical current to modulate brain activity. Participants will complete brain scans and questionnaires at various points to evaluate changes in the brain and symptom severity.
Device: Brain Stimulation
This intervention is distinct because it combines two non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), in a sequential manner. Unlike studies that evaluate these techniques individually, this study explores their combined and complementary effects, with iTBS priming the brain to enhance the subsequent impact of tDCS. The sequential design leverages different mechanisms of action: iTBS delivers magnetic pulses to targeted brain areas to modulate neural activity, while tDCS applies a low electrical current for sustained modulation. This approach specifically targets neuropsychiatric symptoms (e.g., mood swings, apathy, and agitation) in individuals with Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias (ADRD), a population often underserved by traditional interventions. The study also evaluates the feasibility of at-home tDCS administration, making it unique in combining clinical and caregiver-managed treat

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Feasibility of iTBS-tDCS treatment in ADRD patients
Time Frame: From enrollment until the end of treatment at 5 weeks
The feasibility of providing sequential iTBS-tDCS treatment to ADRD patients with neuropsychiatric symptoms is a primary focus. Feasibility will be assessed mainly through rates of by recruitment, retention and adherence. Recruitment rate is the number of enrolled patients divided by the total number of patients who initially approached the study or had interest in it. Retention rate is the percentage of patients who complete the entire study out of the initial enrolled participants, and then adherence rate is the number of completed iTBS and tDCS sessions divided by the total prescribed treatment sessions. Since feasibility is being evaluated as the primary aim instead of efficacy, there is no randomization or probability of group assignment. Each and every subject will undergo the same treatment stimulation process, as they will all have 1 week of in-clinic iTBS sessions and then four weeks of at-home tDCS sessions.
From enrollment until the end of treatment at 5 weeks
Tolerability of iTBS-tDCS treatment in ADRD patients
Time Frame: From enrollment until the end of treatment at 5 weeks
The tolerability of providing sequential iTBS-tDCS treatment to ADRD patients with neuropsychiatric symptoms. Tolerability will be evaluated based on the frequency and severity of adverse events reported during the intervention period. These findings will inform the design and implementation of a larger clinical trial.
From enrollment until the end of treatment at 5 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Neuropsychiatric Symptoms
Time Frame: From enrollment until the end of treatment at 5 weeks
We will gather preliminary data on the potential effects of iTBS-tDCS on neuropsychiatric symptoms in individuals with Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias, as determined by changes in standardized neuropsychiatric symptom questionnaires pre- and post-treatment.
From enrollment until the end of treatment at 5 weeks
Caregiver burden
Time Frame: At baseline (week 0) and post-treatment (week 6)
We will also explore the potential impact of the treatment on caregiver burden using caregiver-reported outcomes collected before and after the intervention. The total score of caregiver burden will involve the sum of the responses to all items on the Zarit Burden Interview assessment, and these scores are rated on a Likert scale of 0-4. This total score quantifies the level of caregiver burden, as high scores will indicate greater burden. Descriptive statistics; such as mean, median, and standard deviation-will summarize the overall caregiver burden within the study sample. Other factors associated with determining caregiver burden include inferential statistical methods like multiple regression analysis or ANOVA, as these will be used to examine connections between ZBI scores and variables such as patient cognitive function, treatment compliance, and demographic factors.
At baseline (week 0) and post-treatment (week 6)
Brain connectivity through MRI
Time Frame: At baseline visit (week 0) and post-treatment (week 6)
We can observe potential changes in brain connectivity through functional MRI scans conducted pre- and post-treatment, to inform hypotheses for future studies. The MRI will be used to obtain baseline images and neuromodulation-induced changes of brain structure as well as functional connectivity, particularly in the default mode and salience networks.
At baseline visit (week 0) and post-treatment (week 6)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Baylor College of Medicine

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 (Estimated)

August 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

July 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

August 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 13, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 17, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

February 19, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 7, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 5, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • H-56426

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

Yes

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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