NCT04944147

Brief Summary

The aim of the study is to investigate effects of brain stimulation-assisted cognitive training in patients with persistent subjective or objective cognitive impairment after polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-positive COVID-19 disease.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

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

Enrollment
60

participants targeted

Target at P25-P50 for not_applicable covid19

Timeline
Completed

Started Jan 2022

Longer than P75 for not_applicable covid19

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

June 28, 2021

Completed
1 day until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

June 29, 2021

Completed
6 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

January 5, 2022

Completed
2.7 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

September 9, 2024

Completed
29 days until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

October 8, 2024

Completed
Last Updated

December 5, 2024

Status Verified

December 1, 2024

Enrollment Period

2.7 years

First QC Date

June 28, 2021

Last Update Submit

December 2, 2024

Conditions

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Working memory performance at post-assessment

    Percent change of correct responses in the n-back task compared to the pre-training assessment.

    3 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (9)

  • Working memory performance at follow-up assessment

    4 weeks after training

  • Working memory training performance (Letter Updating Task) at post-assessment

    3 weeks

  • Working memory training performance (Letter Updating Task) at follow-up assessment

    4 weeks after training

  • Quality of Life at post-assessment

    3 weeks

  • Quality of Life at follow-up assessment

    4 weeks after training

  • +4 more secondary outcomes

Study Arms (3)

Anodal tDCS + cognitive training

EXPERIMENTAL

device: anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), 9 sessions with 20 minutes stimulation each (2 mA) over left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex behavioral: intensive cognitive training intensive cognitive training of letter memory updating task (20 minutes), 9 sessions

Device: Anodal tDCSBehavioral: Intensive cognitive training

Sham tDCS + cognitive training

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

device: sham transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), 9 sessions with 30 seconds stimulation each (2 mA) over left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex behavioral: intensive cognitive training intensive cognitive training of letter memory updating task (20 minutes), 9 sessions

Device: Sham tDCSBehavioral: Intensive cognitive training

Sham tDCS + Progressive Muscle Relaxation training

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

device: sham transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), 9 sessions with 30 seconds stimulation each (2 mA) over left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex behavioral: progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) standardized instructed PMR (20 minutes), 9 sessions

Device: Sham tDCSBehavioral: Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR)

Interventions

Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), 9 sessions with 20 minutes stimulation each (2 mA)

Anodal tDCS + cognitive training
Sham tDCSDEVICE

Sham transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), 9 sessions with 30 sec stimulation each (2 mA) to ensure blinding of participants

Sham tDCS + Progressive Muscle Relaxation trainingSham tDCS + cognitive training

Intensive cognitive training of a letter memory updating task, 9 sessions

Anodal tDCS + cognitive trainingSham tDCS + cognitive training

Standardized instructed PMR training, 9 sessions

Sham tDCS + Progressive Muscle Relaxation training

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years - 60 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

  • Self-reported concerns regarding cognitive functioning.
  • Age: 18-60 years.

You may not qualify if:

  • Acute COVID-19 illness.
  • History of dementia before COVID-19.
  • Other neurodegenerative neurological disorders; epilepsy or history of seizures.
  • Severe and untreated medical conditions that preclude participation in the training, as determined by responsible physician.
  • History of severe alcoholism or use of drugs.
  • Severe psychiatric disorders such as severe depression (if not in remission) or psychosis.
  • Contraindication to tDCS application (Antal et al. 2017).

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

University Medicine Greifswald

Greifswald, Germany

Location

Related Publications (1)

  • Thams F, Antonenko D, Fleischmann R, Meinzer M, Grittner U, Schmidt S, Brakemeier EL, Steinmetz A, Floel A. Neuromodulation through brain stimulation-assisted cognitive training in patients with post-COVID-19 cognitive impairment (Neuromod-COV): study protocol for a PROBE phase IIb trial. BMJ Open. 2022 Apr 11;12(4):e055038. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-055038.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

COVID-19

Interventions

Transcranial Direct Current StimulationAutogenic Training

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Pneumonia, ViralPneumoniaRespiratory Tract InfectionsInfectionsVirus DiseasesCoronavirus InfectionsCoronaviridae InfectionsNidovirales InfectionsRNA Virus InfectionsLung DiseasesRespiratory Tract Diseases

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Electric Stimulation TherapyTherapeuticsConvulsive TherapyPsychiatric Somatic TherapiesBehavioral Disciplines and ActivitiesElectroshockPsychological TechniquesHypnosisMind-Body TherapiesComplementary TherapiesPsychotherapy

Study Officials

  • Agnes Flöel, Prof.

    University Medicine Greifswald

    STUDY DIRECTOR

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
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

June 28, 2021

First Posted

June 29, 2021

Study Start

January 5, 2022

Primary Completion

September 9, 2024

Study Completion

October 8, 2024

Last Updated

December 5, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-12

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will share

Anonymized data will be made available to the scientific community upon request.

Shared Documents
STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP

Locations