NCT00792428

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether a non-painful, non-invasive, brain-stimulation technique called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) combined with traditional physical-occupational therapy (OT) will improve motor function in patients with chronic stroke. The aim is to determine the effect of applying real (anodal and/or cathodal) - in a dual configuration - vs sham (pretend) tDCS to the motor brain regions on both hemispheres - in a dual configuration - to improve motor function in chronic stroke patients. Our research in normal subjects has shown that motor skills can be enhanced if tDCS is applied to the brain's motor region during motor learning. The effects after a single session of tDCS can last for up to 30 minutes, effects of multiple sessions (one session per day) can last for weeks. Furthermore, single sessions of tDCS applied to the motor regions in stroke patients have shown that improvements in motor functions can be seen and that effects may last for at least 30 minutes. Patients enrolled in this trial will be randomized to receive either real tDCS or sham tDCS in combination with PT-OT once a day for 5 days. Assessments will be done about 3 days and 7 days after the end of the experimental treatment by investigators who are blinded to the intervention. Patients are also blinded as to whether they are receiving real or sham tDCS. We hypothesize that real tDCS applied to the motor regions in combination with PT-OT results in a subsequent improvement in motor function of the recovering hand over sham tDCS in combination with PT-OT.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
20

participants targeted

Target at below P25 for not_applicable stroke

Timeline
Completed

Started Jun 2006

Longer than P75 for not_applicable stroke

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Start

First participant enrolled

June 1, 2006

Completed
2.5 years until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

November 17, 2008

Completed
1 day until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

November 18, 2008

Completed
4.2 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

February 1, 2013

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

February 1, 2013

Completed
4.4 years until next milestone

Results Posted

Study results publicly available

July 11, 2017

Completed
Last Updated

June 4, 2018

Status Verified

May 1, 2018

Enrollment Period

6.7 years

First QC Date

November 17, 2008

Results QC Date

April 14, 2017

Last Update Submit

May 2, 2018

Conditions

Keywords

StrokeIschemiaInfarctionCerebrovascular DisorderCentral Nervous System DiseasesBrain InfarctionBrain IschemiaRehabilitationRecoveryNeurorehabilitationPlasticity

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Fugl-Meyer Assessment of Upper Extremity Motor Impairment

    This scale goes from 0 to 66 (max). Higher values are considered to be a better outcome.

    Baseline Assessment; 3 days after 5 treatment days; 7 days after 5 treatment days

Secondary Outcomes (1)

  • Wolf-Motor-Function-Test

    Baseline Assessment; 3 days after 5 treatment days; 7 days after 5 treatment days

Study Arms (2)

Real-tDCS + PT-OT

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Each subject will receive up to 5 days of traditional physical-occupational therapy for at least 1 hour per day in the stroke recovery laboratory in combination with real transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the motor region for up to 30 min.

Device: Real Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

Sham-tDCS + PT-OT

SHAM COMPARATOR

Each subject will receive up to 5 days of traditional physical-occupational therapy for at least 1 hour per day in the stroke recovery laboratory in combination with sham (pretend) tDCS for up to 30 min. over the motor region.

Device: Sham Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

Interventions

A direct current runs between two electrode positions and affects the excitability of the underlying brain tissue

Also known as: Non-invasive brain stimulation, Brain stimulation, Enhancing stroke recovery
Real-tDCS + PT-OT

A sham current runs between two electrode positions and might affect the underlying brain tissue.

Also known as: Non-invasive brain stimulation, Brain stimulation, Enhancing stroke recovery
Sham-tDCS + PT-OT

Eligibility Criteria

Age21 Years - 80 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • First time clinical ischemic stroke or cerebrovascular accident
  • At least 5 months out from first ischemic stroke prior to study enrollment

You may not qualify if:

  • More than 1 stroke (older strokes)
  • Significant pre-stroke disability
  • A terminal medical illness or disorder with survival of less than 1 year
  • Co-existent major neurological or psychiatric diseases (e.g., epilepsy)
  • Use of psychoactive drugs/medications - such as antidepressants,antipsychotic, stimulating agents
  • Active participation in other stroke recovery trials testing interventions

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center / Harvard Medical School

Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States

Location

Related Publications (5)

  • Vines BW, Nair D, Schlaug G. Modulating activity in the motor cortex affects performance for the two hands differently depending upon which hemisphere is stimulated. Eur J Neurosci. 2008 Oct;28(8):1667-73. doi: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2008.06459.x.

    PMID: 18973584BACKGROUND
  • Vines BW, Cerruti C, Schlaug G. Dual-hemisphere tDCS facilitates greater improvements for healthy subjects' non-dominant hand compared to uni-hemisphere stimulation. BMC Neurosci. 2008 Oct 28;9:103. doi: 10.1186/1471-2202-9-103.

    PMID: 18957075BACKGROUND
  • Nair DG, Hutchinson S, Fregni F, Alexander M, Pascual-Leone A, Schlaug G. Imaging correlates of motor recovery from cerebral infarction and their physiological significance in well-recovered patients. Neuroimage. 2007 Jan 1;34(1):253-63. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2006.09.010. Epub 2006 Oct 27.

    PMID: 17070707BACKGROUND
  • Vines BW, Nair DG, Schlaug G. Contralateral and ipsilateral motor effects after transcranial direct current stimulation. Neuroreport. 2006 Apr 24;17(6):671-4. doi: 10.1097/00001756-200604240-00023.

    PMID: 16603933BACKGROUND
  • Lindenberg R, Renga V, Zhu LL, Nair D, Schlaug G. Bihemispheric brain stimulation facilitates motor recovery in chronic stroke patients. Neurology. 2010 Dec 14;75(24):2176-84. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e318202013a. Epub 2010 Nov 10.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

StrokeIschemiaInfarctionCerebrovascular DisordersCentral Nervous System DiseasesBrain InfarctionBrain Ischemia

Interventions

Deep Brain Stimulation

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Brain DiseasesNervous System DiseasesVascular DiseasesCardiovascular DiseasesPathologic ProcessesPathological Conditions, Signs and SymptomsNecrosis

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Electric Stimulation TherapyTherapeuticsSurgical Procedures, Operative

Results Point of Contact

Title
Gottfried Schlaug, MD, PhD
Organization
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Study Officials

  • Gottfried Schlaug, MD, PhD

    Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center / Harvard Medical School

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

PI is Sponsor Employee
No
Restrictive Agreement
No

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
DOUBLE
Who Masked
PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Associate Professor of Neurology; Staff Neurologist

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

November 17, 2008

First Posted

November 18, 2008

Study Start

June 1, 2006

Primary Completion

February 1, 2013

Study Completion

February 1, 2013

Last Updated

June 4, 2018

Results First Posted

July 11, 2017

Record last verified: 2018-05

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will not share

Locations