NCT05251649

Brief Summary

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by progressive cognitive decline, and cognition is associated with cerebral concussion. Previous studies have found reduced gamma energy in the brain of AD patients. Therefore, modulation of gamma activity in AD patients may help improve cognitive function. The purpose of this study was to investigate the safety and tolerability of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) combined with 40Hz sound stimulation in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD); to compare the effects of tACS combined with sound stimulation, tACS, and 40Hz sound stimulation on cognition in AD patients; and the effects of tACS combined with sound stimulation, tACS, and 40Hz sound stimulation on brain network connectivity in AD patients before and after tACS.

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
60

participants targeted

Target at P25-P50 for not_applicable alzheimer-disease

Timeline
Completed

Started Dec 2021

Shorter than P25 for not_applicable alzheimer-disease

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

December 23, 2021

Completed
27 days until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

January 19, 2022

Completed
1 month until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

February 23, 2022

Completed
10 months until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

January 1, 2023

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

January 1, 2023

Completed
Last Updated

February 23, 2022

Status Verified

February 1, 2022

Enrollment Period

1 year

First QC Date

January 19, 2022

Last Update Submit

February 22, 2022

Conditions

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Change in Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale cognitive subscale scores

    ADAS-cog 11 scale ranges from 0 to 70, and higher value represents a worse outcome. This study will use ADAS-cog to assess changes in the global cognitive function after intervention.

    up to 21 days (end of intervention) ,3 months

Secondary Outcomes (9)

  • Change in Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores

    up to 21 days (end of intervention) ,3 months

  • Change in Mini-mental State Examination scores

    up to 21 days (end of intervention) ,3 months

  • Change in Clinical Dementia Rating scores

    up to 21 days (end of intervention) ,3 months

  • Change in Auditory Verbal Learning Test scores

    up to 21 days (end of intervention) ,3 months

  • Change in Boston Naming Test scores

    up to 21 days (end of intervention), 3 months

  • +4 more secondary outcomes

Study Arms (3)

tACS combined with 40 Hz sound stimulation group

EXPERIMENTAL

15 daily (Monday-Friday) 20min sessions of tACS combined with 40 Hz sound stimulation

Device: tACS combined with 40 Hz sound stimulation

tACS group

EXPERIMENTAL

15 daily (Monday-Friday) 20min sessions of tACS stimulation

Device: Transcranial alternating current stimulation

40 Hz sound stimulation group

EXPERIMENTAL

15 daily (Monday-Friday) 20min sessions of 40 Hz sound stimulation

Device: 40 Hz sound stimulation

Interventions

The tACS instrument (model: XPNS208-B). Two electrodes are placed in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the contralateral supraorbital area. and connected to the tACS device via a thin cable. The intervention will be performed using tACS (40 Hz, 1.5 mA) for 15 sessions of 20 min over 3 weeks (21 days). Sound stimulation apparatus: Two sponge earplugs were placed in the ears and the sound stimulator was set to (40Hz, 60dB). Sound stimulation was turned on simultaneously at the beginning of tACS. The duration of sound stimulation was set to 5 min stimulation, 5 min rest, 5 min stimulation, 1 min rest, and continued stimulation until the end of electrical stimulation while sound stimulation was turned off.

tACS combined with 40 Hz sound stimulation group

The tACS instrument (model: XPNS208-B). Two electrodes are placed in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the contralateral supraorbital area. and connected to the tACS device via a thin cable. The intervention will be performed using tACS (40 Hz, 1.5 mA) for 15 sessions of 20 min over 3 weeks (21 days).

tACS group

Sound stimulation apparatus: Two sponge earplugs were placed in the ears and the sound stimulator was set to (40Hz, 60dB). The duration of the sound stimulation was set to stimulate for 5 min, rest for 5 min, stimulate for 5 min, rest for 1 min, and last for a total of 20 min. 15 sessions of 20 min were performed over a period of 3 weeks (21 days).

40 Hz sound stimulation group

Eligibility Criteria

Age40 Years - 80 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Age 40-80 years, male or female;
  • Meet the diagnosis AD formulated by the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association (NIA-AA) dementia diagnostic criteria;
  • Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR) =1.0 or 2.0;
  • MMSE score ≤ 24;
  • Able to move freely or with the aid of a walker or crutches;
  • Good vision and hearing, able to cooperate with examination and treatment;
  • Subjects voluntarily joined and had a guardian to sign the informed consent.

You may not qualify if:

  • The presence of preoperative structural brain abnormalities (such as tumors, cerebral infarction, hydrocephalus or intracranial hemorrhage);
  • The presence of other neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, etc;
  • Psychiatric system disorders: such as anxiety disorders, affective disorders such as depression, or pharmacogenic psychiatric disorders;
  • Severe medical illness, current use of respiratory medications, cardiovascular medications, anticonvulsants or psychoactive drugs and clinically significant gastrointestinal, renal, hepatic, respiratory, infectious, endocrine or cardiovascular disease, cancer, alcoholism or drug addiction;
  • Severe hearing and visual impairment;
  • Patients with clinical comorbidities with a life expectancy of less than 2 years;
  • Patients who have undergone cranial surgery;
  • Contraindications to undergoing magnetic resonance imaging or receiving transcranial alternating current stimulation (pacemakers, post DBS surgery);
  • Eczema or sensitive skin;
  • Familial Alzheimer's disease;
  • Presence of other types of dementia: vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal dementia, infectious dementia, etc;
  • Other conditions that, in the opinion of the investigator, may not be suitable for this study.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Chinese PLA General Hospital

Beijing, 100853, China

RECRUITING

Related Publications (2)

  • Liu Y, Liu S, Tang C, Tang K, Liu D, Chen M, Mao Z, Xia X. Transcranial alternating current stimulation combined with sound stimulation improves cognitive function in patients with Alzheimer's disease: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Front Aging Neurosci. 2023 Jan 9;14:1068175. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.1068175. eCollection 2022.

  • Liu Y, Tang C, Wei K, Liu D, Tang K, Chen M, Xia X, Mao Z. Transcranial alternating current stimulation combined with sound stimulation improves the cognitive function of patients with Alzheimer's disease: A case report and literature review. Front Neurol. 2022 Sep 23;13:962684. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2022.962684. eCollection 2022.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Alzheimer Disease

Interventions

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

DementiaBrain DiseasesCentral Nervous System DiseasesNervous System DiseasesTauopathiesNeurodegenerative DiseasesNeurocognitive DisordersMental Disorders

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Electric Stimulation TherapyTherapeuticsConvulsive TherapyPsychiatric Somatic TherapiesBehavioral Disciplines and ActivitiesElectroshockPsychological Techniques

Study Officials

  • Zhiqi Mao, Ph.D

    Chinese PLA General Hospital

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Zhiqi Mao, Ph.D

CONTACT

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Who Masked
PARTICIPANT, CARE PROVIDER, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

January 19, 2022

First Posted

February 23, 2022

Study Start

December 23, 2021

Primary Completion

January 1, 2023

Study Completion

January 1, 2023

Last Updated

February 23, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-02

Locations