Treating Primary Progressive Aphasia and Apraxia of Speech Using Non-invasive Brain Stimulation

NCT ID: NCT05368350

Last Updated: 2025-05-04

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

ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

12 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2022-06-01

Study Completion Date

2026-04-16

Brief Summary

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The purpose of the study is to test whether low level electric stimulation, called transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), on the part of the brain (i.e., pre-supplementary motor area and left inferior frontal gyrus) thought to aid in memory will improve speech and language difficulties in patients with primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and progressive apraxia of speech (PAOS). The primary outcome measures are neuropsychological assessments of speech and language functions, and the secondary measures are neuropsychological assessments of other cognitive abilities and electroencephalography (EEG) measures.

Detailed Description

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This pilot study has one treatment arm with open-label treatment and will examine improvement of speech output, verbal fluency, and other cognitive deficits associated with primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and progressive apraxia of speech (PAOS), by utilizing 1 milliamp transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) active treatment applied to pre-supplementary motor area or left inferior frontal gyrus for 20 minutes over 10 sessions. There will be baseline testing, and follow up testing immediately after and 8 weeks after completion of treatment.

All patients with a clinical diagnosis of PPA or PAOS will be assigned to either one of the two open-label arms to receive active tDCS. Primary outcome speech and language measures, secondary neuropsychological and electroencephalography (EEG) measures, and pre-screening assessments for study medical history and contraindications for treatment will be collected prior to the treatment (i.e., baseline).

Primary outcome speech and language functions measures and secondary neuropsychological and electroencephalography (EEG) measures will be collected after treatment session 10 and following treatment competition (i.e., 8-week).

Conditions

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Primary Progressive Aphasia Apraxia of Speech

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study participants will be assigned to either Pre-SMA or LIFG arm.

Study Groups

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Active Pre-SMA tDCS treatment

This open-label treatment will examine improvement of speech output, verbal fluency, and other cognitive deficits associated with primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and progressive apraxia of speech (PAOS), by utilizing 1 milliamp transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) active treatment applied to pre-supplementary motor area for 20 minutes over 10 sessions. There will be baseline testing, and follow up testing immediately after and 8 weeks after completion of treatment.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS)

Intervention Type DEVICE

Other Names:

tDCS

1 milliamp tDCS High definition tDCS High definition transcranial direct current stimulator, Neuroelectrics Starstim tES, SN E20200930-10 Transcranial direct current stimulation will be delivered via a Neuroelectrics Starstim tES. Stimulation will consist of 1 milliamp stimulation, with (1) Pre-SMA stimulation arm -- anodal stimulation delivered at electrode Fz (International 10/10 System for electroencephalography electrode placement) and electrodes F7, FP1, FP2, and F8 as returns or (2) LIFG stimulation arm -- at electrode F7 (International 10/10 System for electroencephalography electrode placement) and electrodes T7, FP1, AF3, and FC5 as returns. All electrodes are 1 cm diameter Ag/AgCl electrodes and make contact with the scalp via connective gel. Stimulation will linearly ramp up from 0 milliamps to 1 milliamp over 60 seconds, then remain at 1 milliamp of stimulation over 20 minutes, and finally ramping down at to 0 milliamps over 60 seconds.

Active LIFG tDCS treatment

This open-label treatment will examine improvement of speech output, verbal fluency, and other cognitive deficits associated with primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and progressive apraxia of speech (PAOS), by utilizing 1 milliamp transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) active treatment applied to left inferior frontal gyrus for 20 minutes over 10 sessions. There will be baseline testing, and follow up testing immediately after and 8 weeks after completion of treatment.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS)

Intervention Type DEVICE

Other Names:

tDCS

1 milliamp tDCS High definition tDCS High definition transcranial direct current stimulator, Neuroelectrics Starstim tES, SN E20200930-10 Transcranial direct current stimulation will be delivered via a Neuroelectrics Starstim tES. Stimulation will consist of 1 milliamp stimulation, with (1) Pre-SMA stimulation arm -- anodal stimulation delivered at electrode Fz (International 10/10 System for electroencephalography electrode placement) and electrodes F7, FP1, FP2, and F8 as returns or (2) LIFG stimulation arm -- at electrode F7 (International 10/10 System for electroencephalography electrode placement) and electrodes T7, FP1, AF3, and FC5 as returns. All electrodes are 1 cm diameter Ag/AgCl electrodes and make contact with the scalp via connective gel. Stimulation will linearly ramp up from 0 milliamps to 1 milliamp over 60 seconds, then remain at 1 milliamp of stimulation over 20 minutes, and finally ramping down at to 0 milliamps over 60 seconds.

Interventions

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high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS)

Other Names:

tDCS

1 milliamp tDCS High definition tDCS High definition transcranial direct current stimulator, Neuroelectrics Starstim tES, SN E20200930-10 Transcranial direct current stimulation will be delivered via a Neuroelectrics Starstim tES. Stimulation will consist of 1 milliamp stimulation, with (1) Pre-SMA stimulation arm -- anodal stimulation delivered at electrode Fz (International 10/10 System for electroencephalography electrode placement) and electrodes F7, FP1, FP2, and F8 as returns or (2) LIFG stimulation arm -- at electrode F7 (International 10/10 System for electroencephalography electrode placement) and electrodes T7, FP1, AF3, and FC5 as returns. All electrodes are 1 cm diameter Ag/AgCl electrodes and make contact with the scalp via connective gel. Stimulation will linearly ramp up from 0 milliamps to 1 milliamp over 60 seconds, then remain at 1 milliamp of stimulation over 20 minutes, and finally ramping down at to 0 milliamps over 60 seconds.

Intervention Type DEVICE

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* 18 to 85 years of age
* A formal diagnosis of primary progressive aphasia (nonfluent/agrammatic, semantic, logopenic variants or mixed) and/or progressive apraxia of speech
* Capable of understanding and signing an informed consent. Medical information/history, as well as mental status exam and diagnosis provided by referring physician will determine whether or not a caregiver is required to be involved during this process.

Exclusion Criteria

* Has an implanted device, such as a pacemaker, metallic cranial implant, or a neurostimulator
* Skull defects
* Pregnant
* A significant history of arrhythmia or epileptic seizures.
* Not a native English speaker
* Currently receiving speech-language intervention
* Unable to communicated verbally
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

85 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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The University of Texas at Dallas

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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John Hart, Jr.

Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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John Hart, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Texas at Dallas

Locations

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The University of Texas at Dallas

Dallas, Texas, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Dugas CS, Chiang HS, Devora P, Lucas-Mendoza K, Abasi C, Adhikari A, Nguyen T, Frolov A, Kelley BJ, LoBue C, Mudar RA, Hart J Jr. High-definition brain stimulation targeting separate regions leads to differential word retrieval outcomes in patients with primary progressive aphasia: a pilot study. Front Neurol. 2025 Sep 17;16:1630103. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1630103. eCollection 2025.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 41041680 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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UTD IRB: 24-595

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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