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ParkinStim: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Parkinson's Disease

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Parkinson's Disease
Interventions
Procedure: Active tDCS
Procedure: Sham tDCS
Registration Number
NCT02125383
Lead Sponsor
Great Lakes NeuroTechnologies Inc.
Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on patients with Parkinson's disease during sleep.

Detailed Description

The clinical study will follow a counterbalanced crossover design during which subjects will undergo two separate pairs of two-consecutive-overnight sleep studies and receive anodal tDCS (active or sham) to M1. The first sleep study in each pair will acclimate subjects to the sleep laboratory and minimize "first night" effects, thus no tDCS will be applied. The second sleep study in each pair will include active or sham tDCS, presented in a pseudorandom order such that approximately half of the subjects receive active tDCS first while the other half receives sham first. The two pairs of sleep studies will be separated by one to three weeks.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
9
Inclusion Criteria
  • Clinical diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) according to the UK PD brain bank criteria
  • Hoehn and Yahr stage II-III when off anti-parkinsonian medication
  • Able to provide informed consent
  • Currently taking levodopa (300-800 mg per day)
  • On stable regimen of anti-parkinsonian medication for at least one month before study entry and able to continue on a stable regimen for the duration of the study
  • Presence of early morning akinesia
  • Naïve to tDCS.
Exclusion Criteria
  • Children will be excluded from this study due to the fact that they are unlikely to have PD
  • Significant medical or psychiatric illness, significant neurological disease other than PD, metal objects and/or deep brain stimulators in the head that might pose a hazard during tDCS
  • Dementia, as evidenced by a score less than 26 on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment
  • Significant depression (Geriatric Depression Scale score < 20)
  • Presence of hallucinations
  • Having undergone any surgical procedure for treatment of PD including deep brain stimulation (DBS), pallidotomy, thalamotomy, or other brain surgeries
  • A history of seizures
  • A known history of severe sleep apnea or sleep onset insomnia
  • Skin diseases that could potentially cause irritations under electrodes

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
CROSSOVER
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Active tDCSActive tDCSReceives 20 minutes of anodal tDCS three times while sleeping during the night.
Sham tDCSSham tDCSReceives 20 minutes of sham tDCS three times while sleeping during the night.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
PD motor scores measured by Kinesia HomeViewAverage change from two days before tDCS sleep study to two days after tDCS sleep study

PD motor symptoms will be assessed for two days before (baseline) and two days after each tDCS sleep study using Kinesia HomeView. Changes for active tDCS will be compared to changes for sham tDCS.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Overnight PolysomnographyDuring each sleep study

Polysomnography parameters will be compared during the active and sham tDCS sleep studies.

tDCS sensationsDay after tDCS sleep studies

Each subject will complete a questionnaire regarding sensations they felt during the night the day after each tDCS sleep study.

SleepinessAverage change from two days before tDCS sleep study to two days after tDCS sleep study

Epworth Sleepiness Scale

Motor scores measured by the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating ScaleAverage change from day before tDCS sleep study to day after tDCS sleep study

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Rush University Medical Center

🇺🇸

Chicago, Illinois, United States

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