Home-based Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Open Trial for Behavioral and Cognitive Symptoms in Huntington's Disease

NCT ID: NCT05326451

Last Updated: 2026-02-11

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 10 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2023-06-21
• Study Completion Date: 2026-12-31

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to assess feasibility, acceptability, and safety of providing transcranial direct current stimulation( tDCS) to Huntingtons Disease (HD) patients in the early to middle stages and to assess the efficacy of tDCS for HD-related behavioral, cognitive and other symptoms

Conditions

Huntington Disease

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NA
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

active tDCS

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

active tDCS

Intervention Type: DEVICE

Participants will receive active tDCS with a constant current intensity of 2mA. Anodal tDCS will be applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, while cathodal electrode will be positioned on the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Caregivers will help setting up and administering tDCS for participants with HD at home. tDCS will be applied for 30min at an intensity of 2mA, with 30 s ramping up and down. Sessions will be remotely supervised by trained research staff (RA), and will run from Monday through Friday for four consecutive weeks.

Interventions

active tDCS

Participants will receive active tDCS with a constant current intensity of 2mA. Anodal tDCS will be applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, while cathodal electrode will be positioned on the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Caregivers will help setting up and administering tDCS for participants with HD at home. tDCS will be applied for 30min at an intensity of 2mA, with 30 s ramping up and down. Sessions will be remotely supervised by trained research staff (RA), and will run from Monday through Friday for four consecutive weeks.

Intervention Type: DEVICE

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• confirmed HD mutation carriers and/or established family history alongside typical symptoms (i.e. chorea) of HD;
• early (stages 1 and 2) or moderate (stage 3) stages according to Shoulson-Fahn
• exhibit mild to moderate behavioral symptoms defined by severity scores in the PBA-S between 1 and 3 for any of the evaluated symptoms and no symptoms with a severity score of 4
• stable doses of medications for at least one month
• Have a caregiver willing to be present during tDCS sessions and answer questionnaires.

-willingness to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria

• unstable medical conditions
• history of epilepsy
• metallic objects in the brain
• Have a caregiver willing to be present during tDCS sessions and answer questionnaires.
• clinical diagnosis of major cognitive disorder or dementia
• Have risk of suicidal behavior, defined as any suicidal behavior or suicidal ideation of type 4 or type 5 based on the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) in the 3 months prior to screening
• simultaneous participation in other clinical trial
• Individuals determined to be incapable of consent per past medical history or via assessment by the study staff at time of consent.

Caregiver:

-motor/cognitive symptoms related to Alzheimer's disease or Huntington's disease that might impair the ability to assist the participant during the research study.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 80 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Erin Furr Stimming

Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Erin Stimming, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

Locations

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Houston, Texas, United States

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

United States

Central Contacts

Erin Stimming, MD

Role: CONTACT

Erin.E.Furr@uth.tmc.edu

(713) 500-7033

Thiago Macedo e Cordeiro, MD

Role: CONTACT

macedoecorde@uthscsa.edu

210-450-7055

Facility Contacts

Erin Stimming, MD

Role: primary

Erin.E.Furr@uth.tmc.edu

(713) 500-7033

Thiago Macedo e Cordeiro, MD

Role: backup

macedoecorde@uthscsa.edu

210-450-7055

Other Identifiers

HSC-MS-21-1065

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id