Study Results
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Basic Information
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COMPLETED
PHASE1
14 participants
INTERVENTIONAL
2023-12-01
2025-04-30
Brief Summary
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Detailed Description
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Accumulating evidence suggests that similar neuromodulation protocols may be helpful in targeting neuropsychiatric symptoms across a range of neurologic and neurodegenerative conditions including dementia, movement disorders, and stroke. Apathy is a distinct neuropsychiatric symptom characterized by loss of motivation, withdrawal, and decreased goal-directed activity seen across a wide range of neuropsychiatric conditions. Apathy contributes significantly to lower quality of life, caregiver burnout, and poorer rehabilitation outcomes. Meanwhile, there are currently no FDA-approved treatments targeting apathy specifically. The mPFC has been well-established as a safe and feasible target for traditional rTMS, and may be a desirable stimulation site in targeting apathy due to its superficial location and integral association with other brain structures implicated in apathy pathophysiology such as the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and ventral striatum (VL).
This phase I open-label pilot study will investigate high-dose, accelerated rTMS at the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) to target apathy in individuals with chronic stroke. The primary aims of the study will be to: (1) establish the safety, feasibility, tolerability, and acceptability of an accelerated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) protocol for apathy in chronic stroke; (2) establish the feasibility of individualized resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) connectivity for targeting rTMS in post-stroke apathy; (3) establish preliminary efficacy of an accelerated rTMS protocol for post-stroke apathy. Given the limited power of this small pilot study, this aim will be considered exploratory with the intention to guide future research.
Sixteen chronic stroke patients with symptomatic apathy will complete (1) structural as well as resting state functional MRI at baseline for targeting parcellations. (2) A battery of validated clinical assessments of apathy-related symptoms (3) a battery of neuropsychological, cognitive, and symptom measures to assess safety, tolerability, and feasibility. Treatment will consist of open-label, high-dose rTMS to left mPFC delivered following a standard protocol consisting of 600 pulses, twelve times per day, for three treatment days (contiguous or non-contiguous) within a seven-day period. Safety assessments will be monitored throughout treatment. A battery of clinical assessments will be repeated at the end of treatment and weekly for one month post-treatment.
Conditions
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Study Design
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NA
SINGLE_GROUP
DEVICE_FEASIBILITY
NONE
Study Groups
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Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation
All participants will receive accelerated, high-dose repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) at the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) delivered in runs of 600 pulses, twelve times per day, for three treatment days (contiguous or non-contiguous) within a seven-day period.
MagVenture MagPro Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) System
Treatment will consist 12 approximately-three-minute sessions on each of three treatment days within a seven-day period. To promote participant adherence and retention, treatment days will not need to be contiguous. A single session consists of 600 pulses delivered to the dmPFC at an intensity of 120% resting motor threshold (rMT). 50 hz triphasic bursts will be delivered for two seconds, followed by an 8 second inter-train interval. Trains will be repeated every 10 seconds, 10 times total, for a total of 190 seconds per session. An intersession interval of at least 15 minutes will be employed between each of the 12 sessions. Each treatment day will thus last approximately 3-4 hours in duration.
Interventions
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MagVenture MagPro Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) System
Treatment will consist 12 approximately-three-minute sessions on each of three treatment days within a seven-day period. To promote participant adherence and retention, treatment days will not need to be contiguous. A single session consists of 600 pulses delivered to the dmPFC at an intensity of 120% resting motor threshold (rMT). 50 hz triphasic bursts will be delivered for two seconds, followed by an 8 second inter-train interval. Trains will be repeated every 10 seconds, 10 times total, for a total of 190 seconds per session. An intersession interval of at least 15 minutes will be employed between each of the 12 sessions. Each treatment day will thus last approximately 3-4 hours in duration.
Other Intervention Names
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria
2. Right- or left-hemisphere ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke with at least 6 months chronicity
3. Symptomatic apathy as confirmed by (A) total score on the Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES) of ≥39 as rated by the participant or caregiver informant
4. Intact cortex under the coil at the stimulation target site confirmed by neuroimaging
5. Ability to participate in psychometric testing and cognitive tasks
Exclusion Criteria
2. Concomitant neurological disorders affecting motor or cognitive function (e.g. dementia)
3. Moderate or severe global aphasia
4. Visual impairment precluding completion of cognitive tasks
5. Presence of contraindications to MRI or TMS including electrically, magnetically or mechanically activated metal or nonmetal implants such as cardiac pacemakers, intracerebral vascular clips, or any other electrically sensitive support system;
6. Pregnancy (to be later confirmed by UPT in any premenopausal female participants)
7. History of a seizure disorder
8. Preexisting scalp lesion, wound, bone defect, or hemicraniectomy
9. Claustrophobia precluding the ability to undergo an MRI
10. Active substance use disorder
11. Psychotic disorders
12. Bipolar 1 Disorder
13. Acute suicidality as assessed by the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) or suicide attempt in the previous year
40 Years
ALL
No
Sponsors
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Medical University of South Carolina
OTHER
Responsible Party
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Parneet Grewal
Assistant Professor-Faculty
Principal Investigators
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Parneet Grewal, MD
Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
Medical University of South Carolina
Locations
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Medical University of South Carolina Brain Stimulation Lab
Charleston, South Carolina, United States
Countries
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References
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Le Heron C, Apps MAJ, Husain M. The anatomy of apathy: A neurocognitive framework for amotivated behaviour. Neuropsychologia. 2018 Sep;118(Pt B):54-67. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.07.003. Epub 2017 Jul 8.
Levy R, Dubois B. Apathy and the functional anatomy of the prefrontal cortex-basal ganglia circuits. Cereb Cortex. 2006 Jul;16(7):916-28. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhj043. Epub 2005 Oct 5.
Holtzheimer PE 3rd, McDonald WM, Mufti M, Kelley ME, Quinn S, Corso G, Epstein CM. Accelerated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment-resistant depression. Depress Anxiety. 2010 Oct;27(10):960-3. doi: 10.1002/da.20731.
Sasaki N, Hara T, Yamada N, Niimi M, Kakuda W, Abo M. The Efficacy of High-Frequency Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Improving Apathy in Chronic Stroke Patients. Eur Neurol. 2017;78(1-2):28-32. doi: 10.1159/000477440. Epub 2017 Jun 3.
Santa N, Sugimori H, Kusuda K, Yamashita Y, Ibayashi S, Iida M. Apathy and functional recovery following first-ever stroke. Int J Rehabil Res. 2008 Dec;31(4):321-6. doi: 10.1097/MRR.0b013e3282fc0f0e.
Jorge RE, Starkstein SE, Robinson RG. Apathy following stroke. Can J Psychiatry. 2010 Jun;55(6):350-4. doi: 10.1177/070674371005500603.
Nasreddine ZS, Phillips NA, Bedirian V, Charbonneau S, Whitehead V, Collin I, Cummings JL, Chertkow H. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA: a brief screening tool for mild cognitive impairment. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2005 Apr;53(4):695-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.53221.x.
Sockeel P, Dujardin K, Devos D, Deneve C, Destee A, Defebvre L. The Lille apathy rating scale (LARS), a new instrument for detecting and quantifying apathy: validation in Parkinson's disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2006 May;77(5):579-84. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.2005.075929.
Casaletto KB, Umlauf A, Beaumont J, Gershon R, Slotkin J, Akshoomoff N, Heaton RK. Demographically Corrected Normative Standards for the English Version of the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2015 May;21(5):378-91. doi: 10.1017/S1355617715000351. Epub 2015 Jun 1.
Schalet BD, Pilkonis PA, Yu L, Dodds N, Johnston KL, Yount S, Riley W, Cella D. Clinical validity of PROMIS Depression, Anxiety, and Anger across diverse clinical samples. J Clin Epidemiol. 2016 May;73:119-27. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2015.08.036. Epub 2016 Feb 27.
Marin RS, Biedrzycki RC, Firinciogullari S. Reliability and validity of the Apathy Evaluation Scale. Psychiatry Res. 1991 Aug;38(2):143-62. doi: 10.1016/0165-1781(91)90040-v.
Provided Documents
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Document Type: Informed Consent Form
Other Identifiers
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Pro00126436
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: org_study_id
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