NCT00909714

Neuroregeneration Enhanced by Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (TDCS) in Stroke

Neuroregeneration Enhanced by TDCS in Stroke

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 119 (actual)
• Sponsor: Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Testing the hypothesis that non-invasive brain stimulation by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) combined with functional training in the subacute phase of first-ever stroke will enhance functional regeneration compared with a Placebo intervention.

Detailed description

Stroke is the leading cause of long-term disability, which significantly impairs the economic and social life of patients and society. Every year 200 000 to 250 000 patients suffer a stroke in Germany. Only a small number of the stroke survivors recover to a degree that allows them to return into their professional and private life. Despite significant efforts to develop novel and efficient treatment strategies the level of functional regeneration is still not satisfying. Thus, the development of innovative and effective treatment strategies will have a major impact for the patients' life, the society and the public health system. Within the proposed project an innovative, non-invasive and cost effective interventional strategy, based on the combination of a specific rehabilitative training and brain stimulation by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), will be used to enhance functional regeneration in stroke patients. The intervention will be applied in an early stage in which plasticity, cortical reorganization and functional improvement is most pronounced. We hypothesize that the combination of anodal tDCS delivered to the motor cortex of the affected hemisphere combined with training over a period of two weeks in the subacute stage after stroke will significantly enhance cortical plasticity, functional regeneration and long-term outcome determined by clinical and functional outcome measures compared with Placebo stimulation.

Conditions

• Stroke

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	DC-Stimulator to apply tDCS	Anodal tDCS (20 minutes) stimulation will be applied once a day in combination with standardized upper extremity rehabilitative training
DEVICE	DC-Stimulator to apply Sham tDCS	Sham stimulation will be applied once a day in combination with standardized upper extremity rehabilitative training

Timeline

• Start date: 2009-07-01
• Primary completion: 2021-02-19
• Completion: 2021-03-31
• First posted: 2009-05-28
• Last updated: 2024-12-11

Locations

11 sites across 3 countries: Austria, Germany, Italy