NCT07260253

Remotely-supervised Neuromodulation in PPA

Investigating the Benefits of Remotely-Supervised Neuromodulation In Primary Progressive Aphasia

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 80 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University of Texas at Austin · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 40 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether remotely-supervised transcranial direct-current stimulation (RS-tDCS) can improve speech and language treatments for individuals with logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia (lvPPA). tDCS is a form of brain stimulation where a low-level electrical current is delivered to the brain through electrodes placed on the head. The main questions the trial aims to answer are: * Is it feasible to do RS-tDCS with virtual speech therapy? * How can brain magnetic resonance imaging scans (MRIs) predict how well someone will benefit from RS-tDCS with virtual speech therapy? Researchers will compare active RS-tDCS stimulation to sham stimulation (where there is no active stimulation, but participants feel stimulation effects at the beginning and end of the session). Participants will: * Travel to either the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) or the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) one time for in-person testing, an MRI scan, and training on how to use the RS-tDCS equipment * Meet with a speech-language pathologist for pre-treatment testing on Zoom for 2 weeks * Participate in speech-language therapy and independent practice on Zoom 5 days a week for 4 weeks, using either active tDCS stimulation or sham * Complete post-treatment testing on Zoom for 1-2 weeks * Complete follow-up testing 2 months after completion of treatment

Conditions

• Primary Progressive Aphasia(PPA)
• Progressive Aphasia
• Progressive Aphasia in Alzheimer's Disease
• Logopenic Progressive Aphasia (LPA)
• Logopenic Variant Primary Progressive Aphasia
• Logopenic Variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia (LPA)

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Lexical Retrieval Cascade Treatment	Participants work on producing spoken and written names of personally relevant target items using a self-cueing hierarchy. Treatment focuses on the use of strategies that capitalize on spared cognitive-linguistic abilities to support word retrieval. The participant completes two (one hour each) teletherapy sessions per week with a clinician plus 30 minutes of additional independent, computer-based practice exercises 3 times per week.
DEVICE	Remotely Supervised Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation	tDCS is a type of non-invasive brain stimulation. 1.5 milliamp (mA) of current will be delivered via electrodes in saline-soaked sponges placed on the left and right sides of the head. During sham stimulation 1.5 milliamp (mA) of current will be delivered for a brief period and then turned off. The stimulation will be delivered for 20 minutes, 5 times weekly, in the participant's home setting while the participant engages in computer-delivered speech-language training. Sessions are monitored by study personnel.

Timeline

• Start date: 2026-01-01
• Primary completion: 2029-05-01
• Completion: 2029-08-01
• First posted: 2025-12-03
• Last updated: 2025-12-18

Locations

2 sites across 1 country: United States