Efficacy of TOCT and (tDCS) for Gait Improvement in Patients With Chronic Stroke

NCT ID: NCT01883843

Last Updated: 2014-12-23

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

PHASE2

Total Enrollment

21 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2013-05-31

Study Completion Date

2014-09-30

Brief Summary

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Stroke is one of the major causes of disability in the Western world. Initially gait is the most affected function, 80% of patients lose this ability.

Rehabilitation in stroke patients improves walking abilities in terms of gait and related gait activities, though six months after stroke many patients are significantly disabled.

Recently, a prospective study of 205 stroke patients showed that approximately 21% of patients have a significant decrease of mobility between the first and the third year after stroke. The main finding showed that inactivity was the most important factor for the mobility decline.

Evidence about effects of direct current brain stimulation on motor recovery function of lower limb are still little, some show that quadriceps strength after stimulation of damaged M1 area increased. Another study where tDCS was associated with robotic gait training did not report any effect compared to treatment alone. It is necessary to define if a different dosage of stimulation or the association of tDCS with gait training can improve walking and if further studies are required to investigate their effectiveness.

The aim of this clinical trial is to test the possibility of gait improvement through the association of tDCS with a specific task-oriented circuit training for walking abilities, balance and mobility.

Detailed Description

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Inclusion criteria:

* Males and females subjects. Age \> 18 years, \<75 years.
* Diagnosis of first ischemic stroke \> 6 months.
* Mini mental State Examination (MMSE) \>24;
* Functional Ambulation Classification (FAC) higher or equal to 4

Conditions

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Stroke

Keywords

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Chronic Stroke tDCS transcranial direct current stimulation task oriented circuit training TOCT gait training

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Participants Investigators

Study Groups

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real tDCS + TOCT

Every day will be given continuous stimulation duration of 15 minutes with intensity of 0.5 mA (for a current density of 60μA/cm2), generated by a constant current stimulator rechargeable batteries for 10 consecutive days after any rehabilitation treatment in the gym. Two sponge electrodes are placed, soaked in saline solution, fixed by an elastic band, the anode consists of an electrode oblong 8cm2 positioned at M1 area on the lower limb affection (following the medial sagittal axis, with the center of the electrode positioned at one centimeter laterally to the vertex) while the cathode (48cm2) is placed in the contralateral supraorbitale area as reference electrode.

The current reaches 0.5mA and decreases with a ramp of 10 seconds.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

real tDCS + TOCT

Intervention Type DEVICE

Every day will be given continuous stimulation duration of 15 minutes with intensity of 0.5 mA (for a current density of 60μA/cm2), generated by a constant current stimulator rechargeable batteries for 10 consecutive days after any rehabilitation treatment in the gym. Two sponge electrodes are placed, soaked in saline solution, fixed by an elastic band, the anode consists of an electrode oblong 8cm2 positioned at M1 area on the lower limb affection (following the medial sagittal axis, with the center of the electrode positioned at one centimeter laterally to the vertex) while the cathode (48cm2) is placed in the contralateral supraorbitale area as reference electrode. The current reaches 0.5mA and decreases with a ramp of 10 seconds.

sham tDCS + TOCT

Every day will be given a continuous low-intensity stimulation of 0.5mA (for a current density of 60μA/cm2) only for 10 seconds at the beginning and at the end of the stimulation for 10 consecutive days after any rehabilitative treatment. The mounting of electrodes for sham stimulation is the same used for the experimental group.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

sham tDCS + TOCT

Intervention Type DEVICE

Every day will be given a continuous low-intensity stimulation of 0.5mA (for a current density of 60μA/cm2) only for 10 seconds at the beginning and at the end of the stimulation for 10 consecutive days after any rehabilitative treatment. The mounting of electrodes for sham stimulation is the same used for the experimental group.

Interventions

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sham tDCS + TOCT

Every day will be given a continuous low-intensity stimulation of 0.5mA (for a current density of 60μA/cm2) only for 10 seconds at the beginning and at the end of the stimulation for 10 consecutive days after any rehabilitative treatment. The mounting of electrodes for sham stimulation is the same used for the experimental group.

Intervention Type DEVICE

real tDCS + TOCT

Every day will be given continuous stimulation duration of 15 minutes with intensity of 0.5 mA (for a current density of 60μA/cm2), generated by a constant current stimulator rechargeable batteries for 10 consecutive days after any rehabilitation treatment in the gym. Two sponge electrodes are placed, soaked in saline solution, fixed by an elastic band, the anode consists of an electrode oblong 8cm2 positioned at M1 area on the lower limb affection (following the medial sagittal axis, with the center of the electrode positioned at one centimeter laterally to the vertex) while the cathode (48cm2) is placed in the contralateral supraorbitale area as reference electrode. The current reaches 0.5mA and decreases with a ramp of 10 seconds.

Intervention Type DEVICE

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Males and females subjects. Age \> 18 years, \<75 years.
* Diagnosis of first ischemic stroke \> 6 months.
* MMSE\>24;
* FAC higher or equal to 4

Exclusion Criteria

* Contraindications to tDCS: intracranial metal implants that can be stimulated, incorrectly positioned or over-heated by the electric current, presence of a history of epilepsy, frequent headaches or neck pain, implantable devices (ventriculoperitoneal shunts, pacemakers, intrathecal pumps, intracranial metal implants).
* Neurological or psychiatric pathology.
* Severe cardio-pulmonary, renal, hepatic diseases.
* Pregnancy.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

75 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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University Hospital of Ferrara

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Sofia Straudi, MD

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation doctor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Sofia Straudi, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Ferrara Rehabilitation Hospital

Locations

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Ferrara University Hospital

Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy

Site Status

Countries

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Italy

References

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Elsner B, Kugler J, Pohl M, Mehrholz J. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for improving activities of daily living, and physical and cognitive functioning, in people after stroke. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 Nov 11;11(11):CD009645. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD009645.pub4.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 33175411 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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Stroke_tDCS_TOCT

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id