The Effects of tDCS on Pain and Metabolite Changes in Patient with Spinal Cord Injury and Neuropathic Pai

Phase 1

Completed

• Conditions: Previous research has shown that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can produce pain relief in individuals with neuropathic pain (NP), including those with neuropathic pain associated with; Magnetic resonance spectroscopy; Transcranial direct current stimulation; Spinal cord injury; Neuropathic pain

• Registration Number: TCTR20170822003
• Lead Sponsor: Khon Kaen University

Brief Summary

Not available

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Completion: 2014-11-06
• Study Start: 2017-08-22
• Last Update Posted: 19 August 2024

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 10

Inclusion Criteria

(1) right handed traumatic spinal cord injury due to an accident, a gunshot, or disease; (2) bilateral pain that was had the same intensity on both sides of the body with an average pain intensity rating before tDCS treatment of 4 or greater, as measured by a 0-10 numerical rating scale (0 = “No pain” to 10 = “Worst pain that you could imagine”); (3) presenting with a pain problem that was refractory to medications, including tricyclic antidepressants, antiepileptic drugs, and/or opioids (i.e., pain that does not respond to at least two of these drugs supplied in adequate doses for 6 months); (4) no evidence of progressive neurological disease or other secondary conditions that could impact pain; and (5) not having used an alternative treatment for pain (herbal remedies and other alternative therapies) in the previous month.

Exclusion Criteria

(1) a diagnosis of syringomyelia; (2) current or history of drug abuse or addiction; (3) current psychiatric disorder such as schizophrenia (per medical record), depression (as indicated by a score of 16 or greater on the Beck Depression Inventory(BDI); Wongchai, 2003) or severe anxiety (as indicated by a score of 39 or lower †lower scores indicate greater anxiety †on the Anxiety scale of the Symptom Checklist-90 [SCL-90; Department of Mental Health, 2011a]); (4) significant cognitive deficits (as indicated by a score of 22 or lower on the Thai Mental State Examination [Department of Mental Health, 2011b]); (5) history of loss of consciousness or post-traumatic amnesia at the time of injury; (6) skull defects that would interfere with tDCS treatment; and (7) contraindications for undergoing an MRI scan, i.e., patients who have a heart pacemaker, a metallic foreign body (metal sliver) in their eye, or an aneurysm clip in their brain, severe claustrophobia.

Study & Design

• Study Type: Interventional
• Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Brain metabolytes Pre treatment and Post-treatment day 0, week 1, week 2, week 3 MRS

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Pain score Pre treatment and Post-treatment day 0, week 1, week 2, week 3 NRS