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NCT05289804CompletedPhase 1/2

Diminishing Accelerated Long-term Forgetting in Mild Cognitive Impairment

Diminishing Accelerated Long-term Forgetting in Mild Cognitive Impairment: Study Protocol for a Prospective, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Randomized Controlled Trial

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 26 Jan 2026

Brief summary (registry, in English)

This study is designed as a prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized parallel-group study that will be completed at the clinical research facility at St. James' Hospital and at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. A total of 100 amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) patients will receive a (real or control) non-invasive transcutaneous electrical stimulation procedure. Patients will be assigned to one of four groups. One group will receive active stimulation, while the three groups will be control groups. One groups will be receive sham stimulation (inactive control), while a second group will receive active stimulation and local anesthesia and a third group will stimulate a different nerve (active control; same sensation different nerve). The investigators will include three control groups to verify that the effect is real and location specific and cannot be associated to a sensation effect. The investigators have opted to use a parallel-group design as it is unclear what the carry-over effect and/or wash-out period will be for stimulation. To eliminate subjective bias, all patients and the investigator testing the endpoint measures will be blinded to the type of intervention. The primary outcome, i.e. memory recall, will be determined by a word association task recorded immediately after stimulation, 7 days after stimulation, and 28 days after stimulation. The secondary outcomes is neurophysiological changes determined by resting state EEG, which will be assessed immediately before and after stimulation in the first session. The investigators will conduct this study as follows: 1. Screening aMCI patients. 2. Randomly assigning aMCI patients to one of the four groups. 3. Administering one session active stimulation (n = 25) or control (n = 25 in each of three control group) stimulation paired with a word-association task; administered by research assistant. 4. Behavioral assessments after each of the three blocks of studying the word associations and neural measures immediately after the last session of Behavioral assessments (T0). 5. Behavioral assessments at seven (T1) and 28 (T2) days after stimulation.

Status (registry)
Completed
Phase (registry)
Phase 1/2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
80 (actual)
First submitted
22 Feb 2022
Start date
1 Sept 2022
Primary completion date
31 Dec 2025
Lead sponsor
University of Dublin, Trinity College
NCT number
NCT05289804

What you commit to

  • Study type: Interventional · Phase 1/2
  • Participants enrolled: 80
  • From 1 Sept 2022 to the primary completion date, 31 Dec 2025
  • 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.

Other illness

  • Any cause of cognitive decline or dementia that is not Alzheimer's disease related including parkinsonism related dementias, vascular dementia, fronto-temporal dementia.
  • History in the past 2 years of epileptic seizures
  • Any current major psychiatric disorder
  • Evidence of brain damage, including significant trauma, stroke, hydrocephalus, intellectual disability, or serious neurological disorder.
  • History of alcoholism or drug abuse within the last 12 months

Other

  • Enrolment in an ongoing investigational medicinal product study
  • Medical devices not eligible for MRI scanning

Who the study is looking for

  • ≥50 years
  • Diagnosis of probable aMCI or mild AD
  • Montreal Cognitive Assessment between 18-25
  • Mini Mental State Examination score \>21
  • Stable AChl medication \>3 months
  • Adequate visual and auditory acuity
  • Capacity to understand and sign informed consent

Age in the registry: 50 years to - · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers

Full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov

Sites (1)

Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.

SiteCityCountrySite status
TCIN
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
DublinIrelandUnknown status

This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.