NCT03025334Recruiting
tDCS on Parkinson's Disease Cognition
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Treatment of Cognitive Dysfunction in Parkinson's Disease
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 1 May 2026
Brief summary (registry, in English)
Parkinson's disease (PD) has been classically regarded as a "movement disorder", so earlier work has focused on treating motor symptoms only. As PD patients now have longer life expectancy, the relatively slowly progressing cognitive deficits (compared to their motor deficits) have become one of the major challenges. Approximately 80% of PD patients eventually become demented. Therefore cognitive dysfunction is one of the most significant factors affecting the quality of life of patients with PD. While dementia in Parkinson's disease is routinely treated by cholinesterase inhibitors (e.g., donepezil and rivastigmine), their efficacy on mild cognitive impairment found in non-demented PD is questionable. Alternative approaches have been proposed including transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) but no consensus has been reached. This can be attributed mainly to: (1) imprecise knowledge of the underlying functional circuitry mediating this disease manifestation and (2) inter-individual variability. Here, the investigators will utilize a novel personalized network analysis approach to elucidate on the underlying mechanisms of the effect of tDCS on cognitive dysfunction in non-demented PD patients. It has been well documented that the caudate nucleus plays an important role in cognitive dysfunction found in PD. In the investigators' preliminary resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, they have shown that the connectivity of the right caudate nucleus is correlated to cognitive status of PD patients measured by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). The investigators hypothesize that tDCS on the left and/or right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex may restore the functional connectivity of the right caudate nucleus which may in turn improve patients' cognitive performance.
- Status (registry)
- Recruiting
- Study type
- Interventional
- Enrollment
- 36 (estimated)
- First submitted
- 16 Jan 2017
- Start date
- 22 Mar 2017
- Primary completion date
- 31 Aug 2027
- Lead sponsor
- University of Manitoba
- Diseases
- Parkinson disease
- NCT number
- NCT03025334
What you commit to
- Study type: Interventional
- Planned participants: 36
- From 22 Mar 2017 to the primary completion date, 31 Aug 2027
- 1 site in 1 country
- Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them
Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.
Who cannot take part
Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.
Prior treatment
- Patients with a history of seizure, stroke, moderate to severe head injury, high intracranial pressure, severe headaches, or presence of other neurologic disease that may be associated with an altered seizure threshold; or concurrent medication use, such as tricyclic antidepressants, neuroleptic medications, or other drugs that are known to lower seizure threshold
Other illness
- Patients with dementia (defined as a Montreal Cognitive Assessment score \< 18)
- metal implants or a cardiac pacemaker
- severe hypertension.
- cardiovascular disease.
- secondary conditions that may significantly alter electrolyte balance or lower seizure threshold.
- Family history of epilepsy.
Other
- Atypical parkinsonian features including myoclonus, apraxia, oculomotor abnormalities, ataxia, sensory loss, or pyramidal signs.
- Abnormal MRI
- Pregnant or breastfeeding women (female subjects of child bearing potential will be screened for pregnancy before MRI imaging).
- severe dyskinesia that may interfere with the quality of the scan (e.g., dyskinesia involving head movement).
Who the study is looking for
- Patients must meet diagnostic criteria for idiopathic Parkinson's disease, defined as the presence of two or more of the cardinal clinical features of PD in the absence of known causes of parkinsonism such as encephalitis or neuroleptic treatment
- Ability to provide written informed consent
- defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; DSM-5)
- Age \> 40
- fluent in English.
- Patients' cognitive statuses will be evaluated by the participating neuropsychiatrist or a trained psychiatry or neurology resident.
Age in the registry: 40 years to - · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers
Sites (1)
Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.
| Site | City | Country | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Manitoba Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Winnipeg | Canada | Recruiting |
This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.