MedPath

Neuroplasticity:Melatonin and Transcranial Current Stimulation in Healthy Subjects.

Phase 2
Conditions
Pain
Analgesia Disorder
Interventions
Device: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS)
Registration Number
NCT02195271
Lead Sponsor
Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre
Brief Summary

Pain exerts a tremendous cost in healthy care, rehabilitation and lost productivity. It is is associated with a wide range of diseases and their social consequences is a public health problem.

With the progress of neuroscience and studies on the plasticity of the central nervous system, it has been provided a better understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms of pain.

The neurohormone Melatonin stands by having systemic and diverse mechanisms of action, both in physiological and pathological situations, with modulating effects on the process of nociceptive signaling and neurochemical mechanisms such as serotonergic, opioidergic and GABAergic, exerting anti-inflammatory action, analgesic activity among others.

The advent of neuromodulation techniques such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), which promote changes in neuronal activity and signaling to be effective in conditions of chronic pain by attenuating changes in cortical excitability.

There is clinical evidence of the analgesic effect of Melatonin and tDCS alone. Thus, considering the potential for each isolated intervention and the lack of knowledge of their combined effect, the authors propose the present study to investigate the effect of this combination on the heat-pain detection threshold and the neuroplasticity in the healthy subjects.

Detailed Description

The methods are according to the CONSORT guidelines.

Heat pain threshold and tolerance : Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST) will be used on a computer Peltier-based device thermode.

Conditioned Pain Modulation (CPM)-task: Immerssing the non-dominant hand cold water for 1 minute.

Serum Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF).

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) assessment: motor threshold, motor evoked potential, Short intracortical inhibition and intracortical facilitation.

Statistical analyses: Descriptive statistics, Linear and multiple regression analysis, performed with SPSS version18.0.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
UNKNOWN
Sex
Male
Target Recruitment
50
Inclusion Criteria
  • Male 18-40 years old
  • Healthy
  • Without medication
  • Sign the informed consent
Exclusion Criteria
  • Patients who did not understand the Portuguese
  • Acute or chronic pain conditions
  • Medical or psychiatric disorders
  • History of alcohol or substance abuse
  • Neurological disorder
  • Use of medications affect in the central nervous system
  • Traumatic brain injury
  • Neurosurgery
  • Metallic implant in the brain

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
CROSSOVER
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
tDCSTranscranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS)Transcranial direct current stimulation once time. Dose 2 mA, 20 seconds.
MelatoninMelatonin0,25mg/Kg sl before tDCS
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change from baseline in heat-pain threshold with pain scoreBaseline, one week

Heat-threshold by Pettier-based device on the contralateral hand assessment pain score (VAS)

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change from Baseline from Catastrophizing ScaleBaseline, one week
Change from baseline Inventory of CopingBaseline, one week
Change from baseline of cortical excitabilityBaseline, one week

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) assessment motor threshold, motor-evoked potentials, silent period, intracortical inhibition and facilitation

Change from baseline Brain-Derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)Baseline, one week
Change from baseline Inventory of state-trait anxiety ScaleBaseline, one week

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre

🇧🇷

Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

© Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved by MedPath