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

Not Applicable
Active, not recruiting
Conditions
Apraxia of Speech
Primary Progressive Aphasia
Interventions
Device: Transcranial direct current stimulation
Registration Number
NCT05368350
Lead Sponsor
The University of Texas at Dallas
Brief Summary

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

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).

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
12
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

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Active tDCS treatmentTranscranial direct current stimulationThis 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 for 20 minutes over 10 sessions. There will be baseline testing, and follow up testing immediately after and 8 weeks after completion of treatment.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Category FluencyTreatment change from Baseline to Immediate post, and 8 weeks post treatment completion.

Evaluation of treatment differences in change on Category Fluency

Benton, L.A., Hamsher, K., \& Sivan, A.B., (1994). Multilingual aphasia examination. Iowa City: AJA Associates.

The Boston Naming TestTreatment change from Baseline to Immediate post, and 8 weeks post treatment completion.

Evaluation of treatment differences in change on The Boston Naming Test (accuracy and speech latency)

Kaplan, E., Goodglass, H., \& Weintraub, S., (1983). Boston Naming Test (2nd ed.). Lea \& Febiger: Philadelphia.

The Controlled Oral Word Association TestTreatment change from Baseline to Immediate post, and 8 weeks post treatment completion.

Evaluation of treatment differences in change on the Control Word Association Test

Benton, L.A., Hamsher, K., \& Sivan, A.B., (1994). Multilingual aphasia examination. Iowa City: AJA Associates.

The Apraxia battery for Adults - 2 (ABA - 2)Treatment change from Baseline to Immediate post, and 8 weeks post treatment completion.

Evaluation of treatment differences in change on characteristics of articulation of the the Apraxia battery for Adults - 2

Dabul, B. L. (2000). Apraxia Battery for Adults (ABA-2) (2nd edn). Austin, TX: ProEd.

Spontaneous speech (content and fluency) of the Western Aphasia Battery-RevisedTreatment change from Baseline to Immediate post, and 8 weeks post treatment completion.

Evaluation of treatment differences in change on Spontaneous speech (content and fluency) of the Western Aphasia Battery-Revised

Kertesz, Andrew. ( 1982). The Western aphasia battery. New York :Grune \& Stratton.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
The Trail Making Test (Part A & B)Treatment change from Baseline to Immediate post, and 8 weeks post treatment completion.

Evaluation of treatment differences in change on The Trail Making Test (Part A \& B)

Reitan, R.M., (1958). Validity of the Trail Making Test as an indicator of organic brain damage. Percept. Motor Skill., 8, 271-276.

The Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure TestTreatment change from Baseline to Immediate post, and 8 weeks post treatment completion.

Evaluation of treatment differences in change on The Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test

Rey, A. (1941). L'examen psychologique dans les cas d'encéphalopathie traumatique. (Les problems.). \[The psychological examination in cases of traumatic encepholopathy. Problems.\]. Archives de Psychologie, 28, 215- 285.

The Digit Symbol Substitution TestTreatment change from Baseline to Immediate post, and 8 weeks post treatment completion.

Evaluation of treatment differences in change on The Digit Symbol Substitution Test

Wechsler, D., (2008). Wechsler adult intelligence scale-Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV). San Antonio, TX: NCS Pearson.

The Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-RevisedTreatment change from Baseline to Immediate post, and 8 weeks post treatment completion.

Evaluation of treatment differences in change on The Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised

Benedict, R. H. B., Schretlen, D., Groninger, L., \& Brandt, J. (1998). The Hopkins verbal learning test-revised: Normative data and analysis of interform and test-retest reliability. Clinical Neuropsychologist, 12, 43-55.

The Digit Span Forward & BackwardTreatment change from Baseline to Immediate post, and 8 weeks post treatment completion.

Evaluation of treatment differences in change on The Digit Span Forward \& Backward

Wechsler, D., (2008). Wechsler adult intelligence scale-Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV). San Antonio, TX: NCS Pearson.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

The University of Texas at Dallas

🇺🇸

Dallas, Texas, United States

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