Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) of Brain Fog in Patients With Post Treatment Lyme Disease
Columbia University
Summary
The primary purpose of this pilot study is to investigate a novel approach to the treatment of cognitive symptoms that persist despite prior antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease (Post treatment Lyme Disease or PTLD). Aim 1: The primary aim of this study is to assess whether the processing speed of individuals with PTLD can be enhanced by combining transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with computer based cognitive training games. To achieve this aim, over a 4-week period, all individuals with PTLD will participate in at home adaptive cognitive training combined with either active stimulation or sham stimulation. Aim 2: To determine if treatment benefit in processing speed is sustained, the study will compare the sham and active groups 8 weeks after completion of study treatment.
Description
The primary purpose of this pilot study is to investigate a novel approach to the treatment of cognitive symptoms that persist despite prior antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease (Post treatment Lyme Disease or PTLD). Processing speed has been shown to be one of the primary areas of cognition affected by PTLD and may be a critical component of "brain fog," an everyday term for the fuzzy/scattered thinking, lack of mental sharpness and forgetfulness commonly reported by PTLD patients. Deficits in processing speed may also relate to fatigue and have broader effects on other aspects of cognitive…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–70 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * History of diagnosis of Lyme disease by a health care provider, meeting criteria for either definite or probable or possible LD * Willingness to provide documentation of prior LD testing and/or related medical records * Total prior antibiotic treatment for LD was at least 2 courses of antibiotic therapy * Have cognitive symptoms attributed to Lyme disease that have persisted or returned despite antibiotic therapy * Current cognitive symptoms interfere with function and/or cause distress * Have evidence of slowed processing speed on a screening measure * Participant is wi…
Interventions
- DeviceTranscranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS)
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is delivered by a device that has a user-friendly interface and a large-button keypad, making it is easy to use at home. The device delivers a weak electrical current of 2.0 mA that is transmitted through two electrodes placed on the scalp to target the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex region of the brain. The electrodes are easily placed through a headset. The active stimulation session lasts 30 minutes. The inactive (sham) stimulation session will also last 30 minutes.
- BehavioralCognitive training
The cognitive training tasks are administered via a computer-based program BrainHQ (Posit Science). There are 20 sessions, each 30 minutes a day, conducted over approximately 4 weeks. The BrainHQ adaptive cognitive training tasks have been previously associated with improved processing speed in other populations.
Locations (2)
- University of California, San FranciscoSan Francisco, California
- Columbia University Department of PsychiatryNew York, New York