NCT02503930

Brief Summary

The concurrent performance of two tasks, i.e., dual tasking (DT), is a common and ubiquitous every day phenomena. For example, people frequently walk while talking on a cellphone or drive while talking to a passenger. Often, the performance of one or more of these simultaneously performed tasks may deteriorate when another task is carried out at the same time, even in healthy young adults. This reduction in performance is referred to as the DT deficit or DT cost and is typically much higher in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) than in young adults or age-matched controls. In PD, this DT cost impairs the gait pattern, as manifested, for example, in increased gait variability, exacerbating instability and fall risk. In the proposed study, would be evaluated the effects of tDCS on dual tasking performance following tDCS. The researchers expect that stimulation of the Pre Frontal Cortex (PFC) (using tDCS) will increase DT performance and prefrontal activation.

Trial Health

35
At Risk

Trial Health Score

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

Trial has exceeded expected completion date
Enrollment
60

participants targeted

Target at P50-P75 for not_applicable parkinson-disease

Timeline
Completed

Started Jul 2015

Longer than P75 for not_applicable parkinson-disease

Status
unknown

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

July 1, 2015

Completed
8 days until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

July 9, 2015

Completed
12 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

July 21, 2015

Completed
2.9 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

July 1, 2018

Completed
3 months until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

October 1, 2018

Completed
Last Updated

July 21, 2015

Status Verified

July 1, 2015

Enrollment Period

3 years

First QC Date

July 9, 2015

Last Update Submit

July 19, 2015

Conditions

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Changes in frequency and severity of the freezing of gait phenomenon

    The new version of the Freezing of Gait questionnaire will be used to quantify the frequency and severity of this symptom. The score will be compared to baseline.

    One week post intervention

Secondary Outcomes (5)

  • fMRI scans - changes in gray matter (GM) volume

    One week post intervention

  • fNIRS related frontal lobe activation - changes in tissue oxygenation

    One week post intervention

  • Changes in cognitive performance

    One week post intervention

  • Immediate change in gait speed

    One week post intervention

  • Immediate change in gait variability

    One week post intervention

Study Arms (2)

Active tDCS

EXPERIMENTAL

The active tDCS condition will consist of 20 min of continuous stimulation. This amount of stimulation is safe for healthy young and older adults and has been shown to induce acute beneficial changes in cortical excitability and cognitive functions.

Device: Active tDCS

Sham tDCS

SHAM COMPARATOR

The Sham tDCS - an inactive stimulation.

Device: Sham tDCS

Interventions

In this group subjects will receive 20 min of treatment.

Also known as: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
Active tDCS
Sham tDCSDEVICE

In this group subjects will receive 20 min of sham stimulation.

Sham tDCS

Eligibility Criteria

Age20 Years - 90 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Diagnosis of idiopathic PD (defined by the UK Brain Bank criteria)
  • Hoehn and Yahr score between 1.5-3
  • Taking anti-parkinsonian medications.

You may not qualify if:

  • Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE) score =\< 24
  • Brain surgery in the past including implanted DBS
  • Major depression (DSM-IV Criteria)
  • Cerebral Infarction with Residual Deficits Diagnosis
  • Neurological diseases (except from PD)
  • Orthopaedic or cardiovascular diseases that may affect walking and cognitive abilities.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Related Publications (4)

  • Zhou J, Hao Y, Wang Y, Jor'dan A, Pascual-Leone A, Zhang J, Fang J, Manor B. Transcranial direct current stimulation reduces the cost of performing a cognitive task on gait and postural control. Eur J Neurosci. 2014 Apr;39(8):1343-8. doi: 10.1111/ejn.12492. Epub 2014 Jan 20.

    PMID: 24443958BACKGROUND
  • Leite J, Goncalves OF, Carvalho S. Facilitative effects of bi-hemispheric tDCS in cognitive deficits of Parkinson disease patients. Med Hypotheses. 2014 Feb;82(2):138-40. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2013.11.021. Epub 2013 Dec 1.

  • Springer S, Giladi N, Peretz C, Yogev G, Simon ES, Hausdorff JM. Dual-tasking effects on gait variability: the role of aging, falls, and executive function. Mov Disord. 2006 Jul;21(7):950-7. doi: 10.1002/mds.20848.

  • Weiss A, Herman T, Giladi N, Hausdorff JM. New evidence for gait abnormalities among Parkinson's disease patients who suffer from freezing of gait: insights using a body-fixed sensor worn for 3 days. J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2015 Mar;122(3):403-10. doi: 10.1007/s00702-014-1279-y. Epub 2014 Jul 29.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Parkinson Disease

Interventions

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Parkinsonian DisordersBasal Ganglia DiseasesBrain DiseasesCentral Nervous System DiseasesNervous System DiseasesMovement DisordersSynucleinopathiesNeurodegenerative Diseases

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Electric Stimulation TherapyTherapeuticsConvulsive TherapyPsychiatric Somatic TherapiesBehavioral Disciplines and ActivitiesElectroshockPsychological Techniques

Study Officials

  • Nir Giladi, M.D

    Tel Aviv Sourasky medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel. Phone: 972-3-6974790

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Anat Mirelman, PhD

CONTACT

Jeffery M Hausdorff, PhD

CONTACT

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
TRIPLE
Who Masked
PARTICIPANT, CARE PROVIDER, INVESTIGATOR
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER GOV
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Director of Research and Development

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

July 9, 2015

First Posted

July 21, 2015

Study Start

July 1, 2015

Primary Completion

July 1, 2018

Study Completion

October 1, 2018

Last Updated

July 21, 2015

Record last verified: 2015-07