NCT03302793

Brief Summary

This study looks at the effect of combined breathing-controlled electrical stimulation (BreEStim) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury, amputation, or brain injury. The hypothesis is that a single session of combined BreEStim and tDCS will produce an additive analgesic effect. This record covers the study in a population of spinal cord injury patients. Note that this study will also enroll healthy volunteers, brain injury patients, and amputation patients and that this study as applied to these other populations will be covered in separate ClinicalTrials.gov records.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

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

Enrollment
12

participants targeted

Target at below P25 for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Apr 2015

Typical duration 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

April 1, 2015

Completed
2.5 years until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

October 1, 2017

Completed
4 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

October 5, 2017

Completed
2 months until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

December 1, 2017

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

December 1, 2017

Completed
1.1 years until next milestone

Results Posted

Study results publicly available

January 24, 2019

Completed
Last Updated

January 24, 2019

Status Verified

January 1, 2019

Enrollment Period

2.7 years

First QC Date

October 1, 2017

Results QC Date

December 17, 2018

Last Update Submit

January 16, 2019

Conditions

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Pain as Assessed by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)

    A Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) is a measurement instrument that tries to measure a characteristic or attitude that is believed to range across a continuum of values and cannot easily be directly measured. It is often used in epidemiologic and clinical research to measure the intensity or frequency of various symptoms. To allow a continuous assessment of pain, VAS uses a 10 cm line labelled at '0' with 'no pain' and '10' with 'worst pain'. The line is marked at a point corresponding to the assessment of the pain.

    baseline, 10 minutes after tDCS, 10 minutes after BreEstim

Secondary Outcomes (2)

  • Electrical Pain Threshold

    baseline, 10 minutes after tDCS, 10 minutes after BreEstim

  • Electrical Sensation Threshold

    baseline, 10 minutes after tDCS, 10 minutes after BreEstim

Study Arms (2)

BreEStim and tDCS sham, then combined BreEStim and tDCS

EXPERIMENTAL

BreEStim is voluntary breathing controlled electrical stimulation.

Device: BreEStimDevice: tDCSDevice: tDCS sham

Combined BreEStim and tDCS, then BreEStim and tDCS sham

EXPERIMENTAL

BreEStim is voluntary breathing controlled electrical stimulation. tDCS is transcranial direct current stimulation.

Device: BreEStimDevice: tDCSDevice: tDCS sham

Interventions

BreEStimDEVICE

BreEStim will applied for 10 to 20 minutes.

BreEStim and tDCS sham, then combined BreEStim and tDCSCombined BreEStim and tDCS, then BreEStim and tDCS sham
tDCSDEVICE

tDCS will be applied for 20 minutes.

BreEStim and tDCS sham, then combined BreEStim and tDCSCombined BreEStim and tDCS, then BreEStim and tDCS sham
tDCS shamDEVICE
BreEStim and tDCS sham, then combined BreEStim and tDCSCombined BreEStim and tDCS, then BreEStim and tDCS sham

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years - 75 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • between 18 and 75 years
  • male and female subjects
  • has neuropathic pain after traumatic spinal cord injury
  • has chronic pain, \>3 months
  • is stable on oral pain medications at least two weeks. (patients are allowed to continue their pain medications, i.e., no change in pain medications.)

You may not qualify if:

  • currently adjusting oral pain medications for their neuropathic pain
  • have pain, but not neuropathic (e.g., from inflammation at the incision wound of the residual limb or neuroma)
  • have a pacemaker, or other metal and/or implanted devices
  • have amputation in their arm(s)
  • have spinal cord injury (SCI) involving impairment of arms
  • have cognitive impairment from brain injury or are not able to follow commands, or to give consent
  • have asthma or other pulmonary disease
  • are not medically stable
  • have preexisting psychiatric disorders
  • alcohol or drug abuse
  • have a history of seizures/Epilepsy, or taking benzodiazepines, anticonvulsants, and antidepressants.
  • Mini-mental state examination (MMSE), a brief 30-point questionnaire test that is commonly used in the literature, will be used to screen for cognitive impairment. A brain injury patient with a score of 24 or lower on MMSE will be excluded.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

TIRR

Houston, Texas, 77030, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

  • Li S, Stampas A, Frontera J, Davis M, Li S. Combined transcranial direct current stimulation and breathing-controlled electrical stimulation for management of neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury. J Rehabil Med. 2018 Sep 28;50(9):814-820. doi: 10.2340/16501977-2379.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Agnosia

Interventions

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Perceptual DisordersNeurobehavioral ManifestationsNeurologic ManifestationsNervous System DiseasesSigns and SymptomsPathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Electric Stimulation TherapyTherapeuticsConvulsive TherapyPsychiatric Somatic TherapiesBehavioral Disciplines and ActivitiesElectroshockPsychological Techniques

Results Point of Contact

Title
Dr. Sheng Li
Organization
UTHealth

Study Officials

  • Sheng Li, MD, PhD

    The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

PI is Sponsor Employee
Yes
Restrictive Agreement
No

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
SINGLE
Who Masked
PARTICIPANT
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
CROSSOVER
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

October 1, 2017

First Posted

October 5, 2017

Study Start

April 1, 2015

Primary Completion

December 1, 2017

Study Completion

December 1, 2017

Last Updated

January 24, 2019

Results First Posted

January 24, 2019

Record last verified: 2019-01

Locations