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Patients in Minimally Conscious State After a Severe Brain InjuryPhase 2NCT02702362

tDCS on Precuneus in MCS: Repeated Stimulations

A Phase 2 study testing transcranial direct current stimulation in people with Patients in Minimally Conscious State After a Severe Brain Injury, run by Hangzhou Normal University.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

In this study researchers will apply transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for 5 consecutive days in chronic patients in minimally conscious state (MCS). Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 15 to 75 years
What is being tested?
transcranial direct current stimulation
Type of treatment
Medical device
Could I receive a placebo?
Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
How many people
33 participants
Where
No sites listed yet
Study dates
Dec 2014to Aug 2015
Phase
Phase 2
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 15 to 75 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Child, Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • post comatose patients
  • patients in minimally conscious state
  • patients with stable condition
  • patients free of sedative drugs and Na+ or Ca++ blockers (e.g., carbamazepine) or NMDA receptor antagonist (e.g., dextromethorphan)

Who cannot join

  • premorbid neurology antecedent
  • patients in coma or vegetative state
  • patients < 1 months after the acute brain injury
  • patients with a metallic cerebral implant or a pacemaker (in line with the safety criteria for tDCS in humans)

About this study

Official title: Repeated Stimulation of the Precuneus in Chronic Patients in Minimally Conscious State: a Placebo-controlled Randomized Clinical Trial

In this study researchers will apply transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for 5 consecutive days in chronic patients in minimally conscious state (MCS).

Read the detailed description

Positive effects of tDCS in patients in MCS was showed in a recent study published in Neurology. But the effects went down after 1 or 2 hours. To increase the lasting of the effects, a new study will evaluate the effects of tDCS on the precuneus cortex for 5 consecutive days in chronic patients in MCS.

2 sessions of 5 days of stimulation will be realized, one session will be real (anodal stimulation) and one placebo (sham stimulation). After each stimulation, behavioral improvement will be assessed with the Coma Recovery Scale Revised (CRS-R). A final assessment will be done 5 days after the end of the sessions to assess the long term effect of the tDCS.

Researchers expected to see an improvement of the CRS-R total score at the end of the anodal session and that this improvement persists for 5 days.

Keywords
disorders of consciousness, minimally conscious state, traumatic brain injury, stroke, transcranial direct current stimulation
Medical subject headings
Consciousness Disorders, Persistent Vegetative State, Brain Injuries, Traumatic, Stroke

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • transcranial direct current stimulationDevice

    anodal transcranial direct current stimulation on the precuneus cortex for the anodal session and sham stimulation (5secondes of tDCS) for the sham session.

Study groups in NCT02702362
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
anodal stimulationActive comparatorPatients received anodal tDCS (on the precuneus ) every day for 5 days (tDCS of 2mA during 20minutes). A CRS-R is performed at baseline (before the first stimulation) and after each tDCS. A final CRS-R is performed 5 days after the end of the session to assess the potential long term effects of the tDCS.
Receives: Device: transcranial direct current stimulation
sham stimulationSham comparatorPatients received sham tDCS (5 secondes of stimulation) every day for 5 days. A CRS-R is performed at baseline (before the first stimulation) and after each tDCS. A final CRS-R is performed 5 days after the end of the session.
Receives: Device: transcranial direct current stimulation

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Change in the CRS-R total score

    Improvement of the CRS-R total score after the end of the anodal session and 5 days later but no change for the sham session

    Measured: After each stimulation and 5 days later for anodal and sham sessions (total: 1 month)

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. Influence of the time since insult

    Influence of the time since insult of the results. Researchers expected that the longer a patient is in MCS, the lower is his/her improvement after the tDCS session.

    Measured: one month

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted8 Mar 2016 (estimated)
  2. Study startDec 2014
  3. Primary completionAug 2015
  4. Study completionAug 2015

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Crossover
Masking
Quadruple blind
Who is masked
Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
33 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT02702362
Sponsor's protocol ID
2016/302/A
Status last verified
Mar 2016
First submitted
2 Mar 2016
Last updated
8 Mar 2016
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 2 study testing transcranial direct current stimulation in people with Patients in Minimally Conscious State After a Severe Brain Injury, run by Hangzhou Normal University.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 4 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 8 Mar 2016. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this phase mean?

Phase 2 studies give the treatment to a larger group to see whether it has the intended effect and to keep checking safety.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Change in the CRS-R total score (time frame: After each stimulation and 5 days later for anodal and sham sessions (total: 1 month)). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 8 Mar 2016.

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