NCT04226794

Brief Summary

Binge eating disorder is the most prevalent eating disorder, with consequences not only economic but also social. It is related to a set of cognitive alterations related to impulsivity, cognitive function, attention, decision making, emotional control and physiological alterations in the Central nervous system (CNS) in the processing of rewards, mainly in the frontal cortical regions. Psychotherapies are the standard reference treatments, with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) being the most indicated nonpharmacological intervention. However, the avoidance rates and the rates of non responders to treatment are significant. In view of this, it is believed that therapeutic approaches aimed at the modulation of the CNS, such as Transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) may have a beneficial effect on the neurobiology of the processes that govern these disorders, thus adding to the effects of CBT and amplifying the therapeutic response.

Trial Health

43
At Risk

Trial Health Score

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

Trial has exceeded expected completion date
Enrollment
40

participants targeted

Target at P25-P50 for phase_2

Timeline
Completed

Started Jun 2019

Typical duration for phase_2

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

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

June 10, 2019

Completed
22 days until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

July 2, 2019

Completed
7 months until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

January 13, 2020

Completed
1.9 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

December 21, 2021

Completed
2 years until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

December 31, 2023

Completed
Last Updated

December 28, 2022

Status Verified

December 1, 2022

Enrollment Period

2.5 years

First QC Date

July 2, 2019

Last Update Submit

December 27, 2022

Conditions

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

  • Binge Eating Scale (BES)

    The Binge Eating Scale is a sixteen item questionnaire used to assess the presence of binge eating behavior indicative of an eating disorder. The questions are based upon both behavioral characteristics (e.g., amount of food consumed) and the emotional, cognitive response, guilt or shame. Each question has 3-4 separate responses assigned a numerical value. The score range is from 0-46= Non-binging (less than 17); Moderate binging (18-26); Severe binging (27 and greater).

    20 minutes

  • Short latency intracortical inhibition

    Cortical excitability reflects a balance between inhibitory and facilitatory neuronal circuits projected through pyramidal tract output tracts. Transcranial magnetic simulation (TMS) applied to the primary motor cortex (M1) has become widely utilized to assess cortical physiology using paired-pulse paradigms. Preceding subthreshold conditioning stimulus (CS) inhibits the excitability of the motor cortex, which is named short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI). SICI is a standard method to estimate excitability in a GABAA-ergic circuit in the human cortex;

    40 minutes

Secondary Outcomes (8)

  • % Weight loss change

    5 minutes

  • % Reduction of waist circumference

    5 minutes

  • Three Factor Eating-Questionnaire (TFEQ-R21)

    15 minutes

  • State and Trait Food Craving Questionnaire (FCQ)

    40 minutes

  • Intracortical Facilitation

    40 minutes

  • +3 more secondary outcomes

Study Arms (4)

a-tDCS and nutritional counseling

EXPERIMENTAL

a-tDCS and nutritional counseling

Combination Product: a-tDCS and nutritional counseling

s-tDCS and nutritional counseling

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

s-tDCS and nutritional counseling

Combination Product: s-tDCS and nutritional counseling

a-tDCS

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

a-tDCS

Device: a-tDCS

Nutritional counseling

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Nutritional counseling

Behavioral: Nutritional Counseling

Interventions

a-tDCSDEVICE

Anodal Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) stimulation. Anode will be allocated at DLPFC right and cathode at DLPFC left. The stimulation will occur for 20 min in the intensity of 2 milliampere (mA).

a-tDCS

Presentation delivered through video clip during 20 minutes based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy interventions

Nutritional counseling

a-tDCS + Nutritional Counseling

a-tDCS and nutritional counseling

s-tDCS + Nutritional Counseling

s-tDCS and nutritional counseling

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

  • literate
  • right - handed individuals
  • body mass index ≥ 25 kg / m2
  • meet the criteria of the Statistical Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders 5th edition (DSM - V) for Binge eating (4 to 7 episodes of binge eating per week).

You may not qualify if:

  • Pregnancy
  • shift workers
  • treatment for weight loss in the last 30 days
  • bariatric surgery
  • formal contraindication for tDCS

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre

Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90.450-120, Brazil

Location

Related Publications (6)

  • Kessler RM, Hutson PH, Herman BK, Potenza MN. The neurobiological basis of binge-eating disorder. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2016 Apr;63:223-38. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.01.013. Epub 2016 Feb 2.

    PMID: 26850211BACKGROUND
  • Imperatori C, Fabbricatore M, Farina B, Innamorati M, Quintiliani MI, Lamis DA, Contardi A, Della Marca G, Speranza AM. Alterations of EEG functional connectivity in resting state obese and overweight patients with binge eating disorder: A preliminary report. Neurosci Lett. 2015 Oct 21;607:120-124. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2015.09.026. Epub 2015 Sep 26.

    PMID: 26409786BACKGROUND
  • Peat CM, Berkman ND, Lohr KN, Brownley KA, Bann CM, Cullen K, Quattlebaum MJ, Bulik CM. Comparative Effectiveness of Treatments for Binge-Eating Disorder: Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis. Eur Eat Disord Rev. 2017 Sep;25(5):317-328. doi: 10.1002/erv.2517. Epub 2017 May 3.

    PMID: 28467032BACKGROUND
  • Fluckiger C, Meyer A, Wampold BE, Gassmann D, Messerli-Burgy N, Munsch S. Predicting premature termination within a randomized controlled trial for binge-eating patients. Behav Ther. 2011 Dec;42(4):716-25. doi: 10.1016/j.beth.2011.03.008. Epub 2011 May 27.

    PMID: 22035999BACKGROUND
  • Val-Laillet D, Aarts E, Weber B, Ferrari M, Quaresima V, Stoeckel LE, Alonso-Alonso M, Audette M, Malbert CH, Stice E. Neuroimaging and neuromodulation approaches to study eating behavior and prevent and treat eating disorders and obesity. Neuroimage Clin. 2015 Mar 24;8:1-31. doi: 10.1016/j.nicl.2015.03.016. eCollection 2015.

    PMID: 26110109BACKGROUND
  • Elkfury JL, Antunes LC, Weydmann G, Menegassi LN, Medeiros LF, Cardinal TM, Tocchetto BF, Torres ILS, Fregni F, Bizarro L, Caumo W. The effect of transcranial direct current stimulation and nutritional counseling therapy on attentional bias to food cues: A randomized clinical trial. Clin Nutr ESPEN. 2025 Dec 26;72:102886. doi: 10.1016/j.clnesp.2025.102886. Online ahead of print.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Binge-Eating Disorder

Interventions

Nutrition Assessment

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Feeding and Eating DisordersMental Disorders

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Data CollectionEpidemiologic MethodsInvestigative TechniquesHealth Care Evaluation MechanismsQuality of Health CareHealth Care Quality, Access, and EvaluationEpidemiologic MeasurementsPublic HealthEnvironment and Public Health

Study Officials

  • Wolnei Caumo, PHD

    UFRGS and Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA)

    STUDY DIRECTOR

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
phase 2
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
DOUBLE
Who Masked
PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Masking Details
Only the tDCS intervention was masked
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
FACTORIAL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Professor, surgery departament

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

July 2, 2019

First Posted

January 13, 2020

Study Start

June 10, 2019

Primary Completion

December 21, 2021

Study Completion

December 31, 2023

Last Updated

December 28, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-12

Locations