Personalized High-Definition tDCS Protocols for Chronic Pain Treatment
Innovative Neuromodulation Treatments for Chronic Pain: Assessing and Predicting the Effects of Personalized High-Definition Protocols for Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (HD-tDCS)
2 other identifiers
interventional
144
1 country
4
Brief Summary
This study aims to examine the use of neurostimulation as a potential adjuvant treatment for chronic pain. Among neurostimulation techniques, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) represents a promising, yet not fully exploited, option. Recent methodological advances allow for increased intensity and focality of its effects through personalized high-definition tDCS protocols (HD-tDCS), enabling targeted stimulation of specific brain regions involved in pain and analgesia processing, such as the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). Based on this evidence, the specific objective of the study is to investigate the effect of an innovative HD-tDCS protocol (personalized using structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)), with stimulation applied to the dACC. The experimental design involves randomly assigning 144 patients with chronic pain to three groups, who will undergo an intensive treatment (five sessions in the same week) with cathodal, anodal, or sham (placebo) HD-tDCS. Patient recruitment and treatment will be equally distributed between sites located in Lombardy (IRCCS Maugeri-Pavia; University of Milano-Bicocca; n=72) and Palermo (IRCCS ISMETT-Palermo; University of Palermo; n=72). The effects of neurostimulation will be: a) evaluated using self-reported measures of physical and social functioning (Brief Pain Inventory, BPI; primary outcome) before and after treatment, and at follow-up assessments at 3 weeks and 3 months; b) interpreted in relation to underlying neurophysiological changes, as revealed by the high spatial and temporal resolution provided, respectively, by fMR) and by transcranial magnetic stimulation-evoked potentials combined with electroencephalographic recording (TMS-EEG) before and after treatment (secondary outcome).
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable chronic-pain
Started Apr 2025
Typical duration for not_applicable chronic-pain
4 active sites
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
Study Start
First participant enrolled
April 3, 2025
CompletedFirst Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
January 20, 2026
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
February 25, 2026
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
February 28, 2027
ExpectedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
May 31, 2027
February 25, 2026
February 1, 2026
1.9 years
January 20, 2026
February 24, 2026
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Reduction of perceived pain
We aim to assess the effect of a personalized (MRI-based) HD-tDCS protocol targeting dACC on clinical measures of perceived chronic pain. To this purpose, patients will be randomly assigned to 3 groups, each undergoing either cathodal, anodal or sham HD-tDCS treatment. Neurostimulation effects will be assessed with self-reported measures of perceived pain, collected via validated subjective functional questionnaires at 3 timepoints: before and after a 1-week (5 sessions) treatment, and at a 3 months follow-up assessment. The BPI score will be indeed considered the primary outcome measure for assessing the effect of HD-tDCS treatment, which will be deemed effective if a 30% reduction of pain intensity and interference on the BPI will be reached. The same statistical approach will be applied to the other clinical scales administered. In case of normality violations, data will be analyzed by means of non-parametric tests.
Baseline; Up to 3 weeks; After 3 months
Secondary Outcomes (1)
Change in pain-related neural sensitivity measured with fMRI and TMS-EEG
Baseline; Up to 3 weeks
Study Arms (3)
Cathodal
ACTIVE COMPARATORCathodal HD-tDCS
Anodal
ACTIVE COMPARATORAnodal HD-tDCS
Sham
SHAM COMPARATORSham HD-tDCS
Interventions
Participants will receive 5 stimulation sessions in a week, with the HD-tDCS setup including 6 electrodes (3 anode + 3 cathode electrodes) delivering a total current of 2mA. The spatial configuration of the six electrodes is aimed to induce the maximum intensity of stimulation at the target stereotactic coordinate, based on the modeling of estimated distribution of electric fields. The active stimulation lasts for 20 minutes.
Participants will receive 5 stimulation sessions in a week, with the HD-tDCS setup including 6 electrodes (3 anode + 3 cathode electrodes) delivering a total current of 2mA. The spatial configuration of the six electrodes is aimed to induce the maximum intensity of stimulation at the target stereotactic coordinate, based on the modeling of estimated distribution of electric fields. The active stimulation lasts for 20 minutes. In cathodal sessions, polarity is reversed.
Participants will receive 5 stimulation sessions in a week, with the HD-tDCS setup including 6 electrodes (3 anode + 3 cathode electrodes) delivering a total current of 2mA. The spatial configuration of the six electrodes is aimed to induce the maximum intensity of stimulation at the target stereotactic coordinate, based on the modeling of estimated distribution of electric fields. In sham sessions, the duration is also 20 minutes but participants are unaware that the stimulation intensity gradually ramps down to 0 mA after 30 seconds and then ramps up again during the final 30 seconds.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Diagnosis of chronic pain lasting for at least six months
- Pain scores equal to or greater than 4 on Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) 0-10 on most days for the last 3 months
- Pain unresponsive to conservative treatment such as pharmacological therapy and physiotherapy, and unresponsive to minimally invasive treatments such as peripheral nerve blocks or neuromodulation or steroid epidural injections, when appropriate
- Age between 18 and 75
- Stable pain levels and willingness not to modify any ongoing pain management therapies during the study period (1 week)
You may not qualify if:
- History of seizure disorders
- Active malignancy
- Implanted medical devices and/or metallic implants in the head or neck region
- Cranial abnormalities
- Severe cognitive impairment (Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)\<15.5)
- Neurological or psychiatric conditions, or significant comorbidities, that may interfere with tDCS
- Pregnancy
- Incompatibility with MRI and/or TMS
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
- Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri SpAlead
- University of Milano Bicoccacollaborator
- IRCCS ISMETT Palermocollaborator
- University of Palermocollaborator
Study Sites (4)
University of Milano-Bicocca
Milan, 20126, Italy
Irccs Ismett
Palermo, 90127, Italy
University of Palermo
Palermo, 90127, Italy
Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri Spa SocietĂ Benefit
Pavia, 27100, Italy
Related Publications (43)
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MeSH Terms
Conditions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- DOUBLE
- Who Masked
- PARTICIPANT, CARE PROVIDER
- Purpose
- TREATMENT
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
January 20, 2026
First Posted
February 25, 2026
Study Start
April 3, 2025
Primary Completion (Estimated)
February 28, 2027
Study Completion (Estimated)
May 31, 2027
Last Updated
February 25, 2026
Record last verified: 2026-02