NCT03447054

Brief Summary

Most severe forms of alcohol-use disorder are thought to reflect an abnormal interplay between two neural systems: an overly active impulsive one driven by immediate rewards prospects and a weak reflective one, tuned on long-term prospects. The investigators propose that two non-pharmacological interventions, Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) and Inhibitory Control Techniques (ICT) may act on both systems when combined, which might ultimately result is a reduction of alcohol relapse rate.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

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

Enrollment
136

participants targeted

Target at P50-P75 for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Jan 2018

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

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

November 3, 2017

Completed
2 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

January 1, 2018

Completed
2 months until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

February 27, 2018

Completed
2.1 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

March 18, 2020

Completed
6 months until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

September 1, 2020

Completed
Last Updated

November 4, 2020

Status Verified

November 1, 2020

Enrollment Period

2.2 years

First QC Date

November 3, 2017

Last Update Submit

November 3, 2020

Conditions

Keywords

AlcoholtDCSinhibitioncognitive trainingimplicit cognitionrelapsecraving

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (8)

  • Reduction of alcohol use in post-treatment at week 2

    Based on self-report questionnaires (grams of ethanol/occasion, per/day, number of consecutive days of alcohol drinking)

    é weeks post-rehab

  • Reduction of alcohol use in post-treatment at week 4

    Based on self-report questionnaires (grams of ethanol/occasion, per/day, number of consecutive days of alcohol drinking)

    4 weeks post-rehab

  • Reduction of the relapse rate in post-treatment at week 2

    Based on self-report questionnaires and on one other significant person's feedback; binary outcome (relapser or non-relapser)

    2 weeks post-rehab

  • Reduction of the relapse rate in post-treatment at week 4

    Based on self-report questionnaires and on one other significant person's feedback; binary outcome (relapser or non-relapser)

    4 weeks post-rehab

  • Reduction of alcohol use in post-treatment at week 12

    Based on self-report questionnaires (grams of ethanol/occasion, per/day, number of consecutive days of alcohol drinking)

    12 weeks post-rehab

  • Reduction of the relapse rate in post-treatment at week 12

    Based on self-report questionnaires and on one other significant person's feedback; binary outcome (relapser or non-relapser)

    12 weeks post-rehab

  • Reduction of alcohol use in post-treatment at week 24

    Based on self-report questionnaires (grams of ethanol/occasion, per/day, number of consecutive days of alcohol drinking)

    24 weeks post-rehab

  • Reduction of the relapse rate in post-treatment at week 24

    Based on self-report questionnaires and on one other significant person's feedback; binary outcome (relapser or non-relapser)

    24 weeks post-rehab

Secondary Outcomes (8)

  • Cue reactivity (attractiveness) at day 22

    at post-intervention (day 22 of hospitalization)

  • Cue reactivity at day 22

    at post-intervention (day 22 of hospitalization)

  • Cue reactivity (valence) at day 22

    at post-intervention (day 22 of hospitalization)

  • Cue reactivity (arousal) at day 22

    at post-intervention (day 22 of hospitalization)

  • Cue reactivity (alcohol verbal fluency) at day 12

    at baseline (day 12 of hospitalization)

  • +3 more secondary outcomes

Study Arms (4)

Combined TDCS active and ICT active

EXPERIMENTAL

Five consecutive days: Twenty minutes of TDCS on the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex while performing an alcohol-cue inhibitory control training consisting to systematically paired go responses with non-alcohol pictures and no-go responses with alcohol-related pictures.

Behavioral: Combined TDCS active and ICT active

Combined TDCS sham and ICT active

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Five consecutive days: Twenty minutes of sham TDCS on the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, while performing a no-cue go/no-go training consisting to carry out a go/no-go paradigm with no alcohol-related content.

Behavioral: Combined Sham TDCS and inactive ICT

Combined TDCS active and ICT inactive

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Five consecutive days: Twenty minutes of active TDCS in association with no-cue go/no-go training consisting to carry out a go/no-go paradigm with no alcohol-related content.

Behavioral: Combined TDCS active and ICT inactive

Combined Sham TDCS and inactive ICT

SHAM COMPARATOR

Five consecutive days: Twenty minutes of Inactive TDCS combined with an non alcohol-cue inhibitory control training consisting to carry out a go/no-go paradigm with no alcohol-related content.

Behavioral: Combined TDCS sham and ICT active

Interventions

Five 20-minute long sessions including TDCS (2 MicroAmperes during 20 minutes) and ICT, 5 consecutive days

Also known as: Experimental
Combined TDCS active and ICT active

Five 20-minute long sessions including TDCS sham (non active) and ICT, 5 consecutive days

Also known as: Sham/active
Combined Sham TDCS and inactive ICT

Five 20-minute long sessions including TDCS sham and no-cue inhibition training, 5 consecutive days

Also known as: Sham/inactive
Combined TDCS active and ICT inactive

Five 20-minute long sessions including TDCS and no-cue inhibition training, 5 consecutive days

Also known as: Active/inactive
Combined TDCS sham and ICT active

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

  • Patients with severe alcohol-use disorder (DSM-5 criteria), hospitalized for detoxification.
  • Severity of alcohol use disorder must be at least moderate (at least 4 DSM-5 criteria)
  • Aged between 18 and 65 years
  • Comorbidity with anxiety disorders and depressive disorders is allowed
  • Patients must be illegal drug free for 3 weeks at beginning of trial
  • Patients must be reachable for follow-up

You may not qualify if:

  • Previous neurological conditions (epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, stroke)
  • Present delirium, confusion or severe cognitive disorder
  • Schizophrenia, chronic psychotic disorders, bipolar type 1 disorder.
  • Any severe, life-threatening disorders
  • High suicidal risk
  • Specific contraindications for tDCS: metallic plates in the head
  • Alcohol medication treatment initiated during the rehab: acamprosate, disulfiram, baclofen, nalmefen.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

CHU-Brugmann

Brussels, ++32, Belgium

Location

Related Publications (1)

  • Dubuson M, Kornreich C, Vanderhasselt MA, Baeken C, Wyckmans F, Dousset C, Hanak C, Veeser J, Campanella S, Chatard A, Jaafari N, Noel X. Transcranial direct current stimulation combined with alcohol cue inhibitory control training reduces the risk of early alcohol relapse: A randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial. Brain Stimul. 2021 Nov-Dec;14(6):1531-1543. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2021.10.386. Epub 2021 Oct 20.

Related Links

MeSH Terms

Conditions

AlcoholismInhibition, PsychologicalRecurrence

Interventions

Exercise

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Alcohol-Related DisordersSubstance-Related DisordersChemically-Induced DisordersMental DisordersBehaviorDisease AttributesPathologic ProcessesPathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Motor ActivityMovementMusculoskeletal Physiological PhenomenaMusculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
TRIPLE
Who Masked
PARTICIPANT, CARE PROVIDER, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Model Details: 2 (active, sham tDCS) x 2 (active, inactive response inhibition training) factorial design
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Research Associate at the F.R.S/FNRS

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

November 3, 2017

First Posted

February 27, 2018

Study Start

January 1, 2018

Primary Completion

March 18, 2020

Study Completion

September 1, 2020

Last Updated

November 4, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-11

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will not share

Locations