AzTrials
AzTrials

Transcranial Alternating Current StimulationNCT06565143

Effect of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation(tACS) for Early Alzheimer's Disease

A study testing Transcranial alternating current stimulation in people with Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation and Electroencephalography, run by Anhui Medical University at 1 site in China.

Unknown status

Status not confirmed. The sponsor has not verified this record for over two years, so it may be out of date.

Official record
Search all trials

Trial summary

To investigate the clinical effect neural mechanism of transcranial alternating current stimulation in early Alzheimer's disease Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 50 to 85 years
What is being tested?
Transcranial alternating current stimulation
Type of treatment
Medical device
Could I receive a placebo?
Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
How many people
40 participants
Where
1 siteChina
Study dates
1 Mar 2024to 1 Jul 2026
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 50 to 85 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Subject diagnosed with early Alzheimer's disease or related diseases according to NIA-AA criteria.
  • Subjects must have a MMSE score between 10 and 27,indicating mild cognitive impairment or dementia.
  • CDR score ≤ 2.
  • Subject under treatment by IAChE for at least 3 months.
  • psychotropic treatments are tolerated if they were administered and unchanged for at least 3 months.

Who cannot join

  • CDR > 2
  • Any history or clinical signs of other severe psychiatric illnesses (like major depression,psychosis or obsessive compulsive disorder).
  • History of head injury,stroke,or other neurologic disease.
  • Organic brain defects on T1 or T2 images.
  • History of seizures or unexplained loss of consciousness.
  • Implanted pacemaker,medication pump,vagal stimulator,deep brain stimulator.
  • Family history of medication refractory epilepsy.
  • History of substance abuse within the last 6 months.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

China1 site, 1 recruiting
  • Anhui Medical University

    Hefei, Anhui, 230032

    Xingqi Wu, M.D., +8618788836237 ext. +86, wuxingqi09@163.com

    Miao Fang, +8617778381505 ext. +86, fangmiao9511@163.com

    Recruiting

Other trials in China

About this study

To investigate the clinical effect neural mechanism of transcranial alternating current stimulation in early Alzheimer's disease

Read the detailed description

Upon meeting the inclusion criteria and providing informed consent, each participant will complete a series of cognitive assessments and tACS at the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui medical university. Patients were randomly allocated to tACS group and the sham group. There are about 20 patients in each group. For the all patients, allocation was by coin toss. Patients were studied using a double-blind design. Study participants and all personnel responsible for the clinical care of the patient remained masked to allocated condition and allocation parameters. Only tACS administrators had access to the randomization list; they had minimal contact with the patients, and no role in cognitive and symptom assessments. Each patient would be treated for continuous 14 days by tACS.

Before the tACS treatment, a series of cognitive assessments and neuropsychological tests were obtained by a trained investigator to assess baseline. Each assessment will involve a set of assessment tools, the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-Cog) as the primary outcome measure and various other tasks and questionnaires to measure cognition (including MoCA,MMSE, DS, Stroop test, TMT, BNT-30, VFT, CDT,JLOT. Form H,HVOT), memory (CAVLT, LMT), emotion(HAMA-17,HAMD-14,GDS-30), behavioral and psychological symptoms(NPI), and treatment tolerability. All the tests are conducted in two days. The patient received resting EEG data collection. After the last treatment, the MoCA, and associative memory were obtained, as well as the Global Index of Safety to assess adverse events of the treatment. Patients were instructed to focus their answers on the past 14 days. The patients had also receiving a battery measure of neuropsychological tests, resting EEG. Two months after the last treatment, participants were interviewed to obtain the same assessment as before. They were instructed to focus their answers on the past months.

Being tested
Transcranial alternating current stimulation, Sham transcranial alternating current stimulation
Keywords
Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation, Electroencephalography, Neuropsychology, Early Alzheimer's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale, Working Memory
Medical subject headings
Alzheimer Disease

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Transcranial alternating current stimulationDevice

    Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation tool that alters cortical excitability and activity via application of weak alternating currents.

  • Sham transcranial alternating current stimulationDevice

    In the sham condition, tACS was delivered only during the ramp-up and ramp-down periods (30s); no current was delivered during the 30-minute intervention.

Study groups in NCT06565143
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
transcranial alternating current stimulation-RealActive comparatorParticipants will receive real tACS once daily for 14 days
Receives: Device: Transcranial alternating current stimulation
transcranial alternating current stimulation-ShamSham comparatorParticipants will receive sham tACS once daily for 14 days
Receives: Device: Sham transcranial alternating current stimulation

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Alzheimers Disease Assessment Scale Cognitive section(ADAS-Cog)

    The changes in Alzheimers Disease Assessment Scale Cognitive section (ADAS-Cog) will constitute the major research outcome measure used to assess response to transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS).The ADAS-Cog scale is a scale used for clinical assessment of dementia patients with some memory efficiency tests, which can be used as an objective assessment of memory. The scale is considered a tool capable of providing a specific assessment of the severity of cognitive and non-cognitive behavioral impairments in people with Alzheimer's disease or dementia. The advantage of the ADAS-Cog compared to other scales used in the same clinical area is that its score quantifies clinical and impressionistic aspects of the patient assessed by the examiner, as well as objectively defined cognitive characteristics. The higher the ADAS-Cog score, the worse the cognitive function. The minimum value is 0 and the maximum is 86.

    Measured: changes from baseline at 14 days and 12 weeks post-treatment

Secondary outcomes (14)
  1. electroencephalography

    EEG recordings were obtained from each subject based on 64 electrode locations of the International 10-20 system (sampling frequency 1000Hz).The recorded EEG data were filtered with a second order band-pass Butterworth filter with cutoff frequencies of 0.5 and 60 Hz. For each testing condition, data with muscular, ocular and other types of artifacts were manually discarded and 60 seconds of stationary EEG signal were selected. Only these segments were accepted for further analysis.

    The analysis in the frequency domain was performed using Welch's periodogram method. Recordings were segmented into tracts of 10 seconds each, windowed with a Hanning window, with 50% overlap. The relative powers of the spectral components in the typical spectral bands delta (δ: 0.5-4 Hz), theta (θ: 4-8 Hz), alpha1 (α1: 8-10.5 Hz), alpha2 (α2: 10.5-13 Hz), beta1 (β1: 13-20 Hz), beta2 (β2: 20-30 Hz) and gamma (γ: 30-60 Hz) were computed by dividing the absolute power in each band by the total power.

    Measured: changes from baseline at 14 days and 12 weeks post-treatment

  2. Associative Memory

    The associative memory test uses facial cue word recall. The subjects memorized 20 photos of faces displayed on a screen in gray scale for 4 seconds each. When each card was presented, a common word appeared alongside the face. The subjects had to remember associations between faces and words by association. After a delay of about a minute after the study ended, the subjects were shown 12 of the same faces in different random orders, instructing them to recall the words that appeared with each face during the study. Recorded the correct number of words each face recalled. The faces were taken from a database of 24 amateur models. Each test format included only male or female faces.

    Measured: changes from baseline at 14 days and 12 weeks post-treatment

  3. MMSE(Mini Mental State Examination)

    The full name of MMSE is mini-mental state examination, and the scale consists of 30 subject, include the following seven aspects: time orientation, place orientation,immediate memory,attention and calculation,delay memory,language, visual space.One point is awarded for each question correctly answered during MMSE evaluation. If subject give the wrong answer or don't know answe he/she awarded 0 score, scope of scale score of 0 to 30 points. The higher the score, the better.

    Measured: changes from baseline at 14 days and 12 weeks post-treatment

  4. LMT (Logic Memory Test)

    The changes in LMT will constitute the secondary research outcome

    Measured: changes from baseline at 14 days and 12 weeks post-treatment

  5. DST (Digital Span Test; Forward and Backward)

    The changes in DST will constitute the other research outcome.

    Measured: changes from baseline at 14 days and 12 weeks post-treatment

  6. TMT (Trail Making Test)

    The Trail Making Test (TMT) is divided into two parts, part A and part B. Part A requires the subject to connect 25 Numbers on the paper in sequence, and part B requires the subject to connect 25 Numbers of different colors alternately in sequence. The time it takes for the subject to complete all the Numbers is the subject's final score.

    Measured: changes from baseline at 14 days and 12 weeks post-treatment

  7. HAMD (Hamilton Depression Scale)

    The changes in HAMD will constitute the other research outcome. The examination content consists of 17 questions (about 10 minutes), with a full score of 52. The higher the score, the more severe the depressive symptoms are.

    Measured: changes from baseline at 14 days and 12 weeks post-treatment

  8. HAMA (Hamilton Anxiety Scale)

    The changes in HAMD will constitute the other research outcome. The examination content consists of 14 questions (about 10 minutes), with a full score of 56. The higher the score, the more severe the anxiety symptoms are.

    Measured: changes from baseline at 14 days and 12 weeks post-treatment

  9. NPI (Neuropsychiatric Inventory)

    The changes in HAMD will constitute the other research outcome.

    Measured: changes from baseline at 14 days and 12 weeks post-treatment

  10. changes in Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)

    MoCA was developed by Nasreddine et al. based on clinical experience and reference to the MMSE cognitive items and scores, and the final version was finalized in November 2004. We adopted a localized version (Mandarin version,includes 2 alternative versions) in line with the Chinese cultural background.It includes 11 inspection items in 8 cognitive fields, including visual structure skills, executive function, naming, attention and calculation, language, abstract thinking, memory, and orientation. With a total score of 30 or more than 26, it is normal. Anyone who has been education for less than 12 years will need to add one point to his final score.

    Measured: changes from baseline at 14 days and 12 weeks post-treatment

  11. GDS(Geriatric depression scale)

    The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) was created in 1982 by Brank et al. and is dedicated to screening for depression in the elderly. The most suitable feelings for the elderly in the past week were evaluated.There are 30 items in the scale, the total score is 30 points. The higher the score, the more obvious the depressive symptoms. It is generally considered that less than 10 points is normal.

    Measured: changes from baseline at 14 days and 12 weeks post-treatment

  12. JLOT(Judgment of line Judgment of line orientation test orientation test)

    The JLOT test was determined by Benton et al. in 1994. There are two versions of H and V. The difference is that the order in which the pictures are presented is different. Each version contains 35 images, of which the official test consists of 30 images, and the other 5 images are for the participants to learn. The final score is the correct number of subjects to answer, the full score is 30 points, the higher the score, the better the space perception ability of the subject.

    Measured: changes from baseline at 14 days and 12 weeks post-treatment

  13. HVOT(Hooper visual organization test Hooper visual organization test)

    The changes in HVOT(Hooper visual organization test Hooper visual organization test) will constitute assess response to rTMS the secondary research outcome measure.HVOT is a cognitive test used to evaluate the perceived structure of the subject. It consists of 30 items,and each question is 1 point and the total score is 30 points. The final score is the correct number of subjects to answer, the full score is 30 points, the higher the score, the better the space perception ability of the subject.

    Measured: changes from baseline at 14 days and 12 weeks post-treatment

  14. The Stroop color test

    The Stroop color word test was developed by Stroop in 1935 and is used to evaluate the attention function of the subject. The subject is required to correctly read the target color on the stimulus card and record the completion time. The final completion time is the score of the participant. The shorter the time used, the better the performance of the subjects.

    Measured: changes from baseline at 14 days and 12 weeks post-treatment

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted21 Aug 2024
  2. Study start1 Mar 2024
  3. Primary completion1 Mar 2026 (estimated)
  4. Study completion1 Jul 2026 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Basic science
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Triple blind
Who is masked
Participant, Investigator, Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
40 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT06565143
Sponsor's protocol ID
AHMU-TACS-AD
Status last verified
Aug 2024
First submitted
14 Aug 2024
Last updated
21 Aug 2024
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No

Publications

  • Fang M, Yan Y, Song W, Geng Z, Wang L, Hu C, Li W, Song B, Chen M, Dai Y, Hu Y, Zhou S, Guo H, Ji G, Hu P, Wang K, Wu X. Effects of 40-Hz transcranial alternating current stimulation on cognition and neural markers in Alzheimer's disease: a randomized, sham-controlled trial. Alzheimers Res Ther. 2026 Apr 1;18(1):115. doi: 10.1186/s13195-026-02033-4.

    PubMed 41918026

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Transcranial alternating current stimulation in people with Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation and Electroencephalography, run by Anhui Medical University at 1 site in China.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 8 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: status not confirmed, as of the sponsor's last update on 21 Aug 2024. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in China. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

Results are not available in the source record.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

Contact Kai Wang, PhD (+86-0551-62922263 ext. +86, wangkai1964@126.com), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Alzheimers Disease Assessment Scale Cognitive section(ADAS-Cog) (time frame: changes from baseline at 14 days and 12 weeks post-treatment). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT06565143, which also lists 1 linked publication.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 21 Aug 2024.

Free account

Log in to keep searching

You’ve used your 3 free searches. AzTrials is free: log in or create a free account to keep searching clinical trials and save the ones you want to follow.

Create a free accountLog in