NCT02377089

Brief Summary

The investigators propose to use a clinical trial to test Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation (TNS) to examine the efficacy of TNS as a new treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in veterans. Recruitment will take place at the PTSD Outpatient Clinic at the Veterans Affair Greater Los Angeles (VA GLA). Study participants will be asked to complete, at most, 9 assessments/questionnaires regarding their PTSD symptoms and quality of life, use the TNS device every night for 8 hours, log their use of the device, and attend weekly visits to monitor safety and complete assessments. Each subject will be asked to attend 8 visits over the course of 8 weeks. Subjects who receives the sham-controlled treatment will have an additional follow-up phone visit 4 weeks after the week 8 endpoint to examine symptom improvements. Enrollment and subject-related procedures are projected to take approximately 36 months. Preparations for clinical trial, clinical trial/study procedures and data analysis will occupy a 6 month period, a 36 month period, and a 6 month period, respectively. The duration of this project is approximately 4 years.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

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

Enrollment
72

participants targeted

Target at P50-P75 for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started May 2014

Longer than P75 for not_applicable

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

May 1, 2014

Completed
7 months until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

November 17, 2014

Completed
4 months until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

March 3, 2015

Completed
5.6 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

October 20, 2020

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

October 20, 2020

Completed
1.6 years until next milestone

Results Posted

Study results publicly available

June 8, 2022

Completed
Last Updated

June 8, 2022

Status Verified

May 1, 2022

Enrollment Period

6.5 years

First QC Date

November 17, 2014

Results QC Date

September 29, 2021

Last Update Submit

May 17, 2022

Conditions

Keywords

Trigeminal Nerve StimulationPost-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Treatment Efficacy as Measured by Change in Clinician-Administered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Score for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition(DSM-V) at Baseline and Week 8 Visit

    Treatment efficacy as measured by change in Clinician-Administered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder score for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition at baseline and Week 8 visit. This is a 30-item questionnaire with minimum and maximum score values ranging from 0 to 80. Higher scores indicate a worse outcome and lower scores indicate better outcome.

    8 weeks (Baseline visit and Week 8 visit)

Secondary Outcomes (1)

  • Treatment Efficacy as Measured by Change in Score on Beck Depression Inventory-II Assessment Scores.

    8 weeks ((Baseline visit and Week 8 visit)

Study Arms (2)

Sham

SHAM COMPARATOR

The stimulators are the same device for the active and sham treatment conditions.

Device: Placebo

Active

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The stimulators are the same device for the active and sham treatment conditions.

Device: Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation

Interventions

Subjects will be randomized to treatment with either active or sham TNS for a period of eight weeks. The programming will be set by an individual who has no contact with subjects to deliver TNS in a double-blind manner (n=37 in each group) at the active frequency of 120 Hz. TNS will be performed for approximately 8 hours each night, a protocol that subjects found acceptable in the pilot work.

Also known as: TNS
Active
PlaceboDEVICE

Subjects will be randomized to treatment with either active or sham TNS for a period of eight weeks. The programming will be set by an individual who has no contact with subjects to deliver TNS in a double-blind manner (n=37 in each group) at the sham frequency of 0 Hz. TNS will be performed for approximately 8 hours each night, a protocol that subjects found acceptable in the pilot work.

Sham

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

  • years old and be a patient in the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD) Clinic at the Veterans Affair Greater Los Angeles
  • have experienced trauma while serving in a war zone in Iraq or Afghanistan
  • meet The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V) criteria for current war zone-related PTSD with a duration of at least 3 months
  • have completed a course of Prolonged Exposure(PE) therapy in the Resident Psychotherapy Program in the PTSD Clinic within six months of enrollment and with significant residual PTSD symptoms as evidenced by a Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale score \>50
  • consent to be randomized to active or sham Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation treatment
  • if receiving medication for depression, anxiety, sleep, or mood stabilization, must have been on stable dose for at least six weeks prior to randomization.

You may not qualify if:

  • current substance abuse not in remission for at least 3 months
  • a history of bipolar, schizophrenia, other psychotic disorder, or dementia
  • current suicidal or homicidal ideation requiring hospitalization, or suicide attempt within six months
  • report of severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) with coma duration (30 minutes or more) during the screening interview and/or duration of post - traumatic amnesia (1hour or greater) on the Post-traumatic Amnesia Questionnaire (PTAQ)
  • evidence of receiving antidepressant, antianxiety, antipsychotic, or mood-stabilizer medication where the dose has not been stable for a minimum of six weeks prior to entering the randomization
  • evidence of receiving psychosocial or medication treatment through a clinic or facility other than the VA GLA PTSD Clinic.
  • infection or loss of integrity of skin over the forehead, where the electrode pads will be placed.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

VA PTSD Clinic

Los Angeles, California, 90073, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Stress Disorders, TraumaticTrauma and Stressor Related DisordersMental Disorders

Results Point of Contact

Title
Andrew F. Leuchter
Organization
UCLA Semel Insititute

Publication Agreements

PI is Sponsor Employee
Yes

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
TRIPLE
Who Masked
PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

November 17, 2014

First Posted

March 3, 2015

Study Start

May 1, 2014

Primary Completion

October 20, 2020

Study Completion

October 20, 2020

Last Updated

June 8, 2022

Results First Posted

June 8, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-05

Locations