Home-based TDCS for Cognitive and Behavioral Symptoms in Huntington's Disease: a Pilot Feasibility and Mechanistic Study
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
Summary
The researchers hope to find out effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) sessions on the behavioral symptoms of Huntington's Disease. If participants are eligible to continue, they will be provided a device to administer the tDCS for 30 minutes each day and be asked to answer questions with the study staff . Participants will be asked to return to the study center for follow ups and to undergo additional cognitive tests and questionnaires. Participants will also be asked to answer questionnaires via a web conferencing platform (Zoom) during the course of the study. Caregivers of the participants will be asked to answer questionnaires to collect more information about the participants.
Description
This clinical trial will investigate the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over cognitive and behavioral symptoms of patients with Huntington's disease (HD). The study will also investigate underlying neurobiological mechanisms of tDCS in HD.
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–85 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: 1. individuals aged 18-85 years with confirmed HD mutation and/or established family history alongside typical symptoms (i.e., chorea) of HD; 2. early (stages 1 and 2) or moderate (stage 3) stages according to Shoulson-Fahn criteria, also known as the UHDRS total functional capacity (TFC) scale (Bates, Tabrizi, and Jones 2014); 3. exhibit mild to moderate behavioral symptoms defined by severity scores in the PBA-S between 1 and 3 for any of the evaluated symptoms and no symptoms with a severity score of 4; 4. stable doses of medications for at least one month. 5. Ability o…
Interventions
- DeviceTranscranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)
The active-tDCS treatment will consist of a constant 2mA current applied during daily 30-minute sessions with a 30 second ramp up and ramp down at the start and end of the stimulation. The anode electrode will be placed over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the cathode electrode over the right DLPFC.
- DeviceSham tDCS
Sham-tDCS treatment will consist of the same montage as the active TDCS with the built-in function of the device that has been shown to be indistinguishable from the active treatment in previous trials described in the literature.
Location
- University of Texas Health Science Center at San AntonioSan Antonio, Texas