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Purpose

The purpose of this study is to assess feasibility, acceptability, and safety of providing transcranial direct current stimulation( tDCS) to Huntingtons Disease (HD) patients in the early to middle stages and to assess the efficacy of tDCS for HD-related behavioral, cognitive and other symptoms

Condition

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Between 18 Years and 70 Years
Eligible Genders
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

  • confirmed HD mutation carriers - early (stages 1 and 2) or moderate (stage 3) stages according to Shoulson-Fahn - exhibit mild to moderate behavioral symptoms, such as clinically diagnosed apathy, irritability, anxiety, depression, aggression and repetition - stable doses of medications for at least one month

Exclusion Criteria

  • unstable medical conditions - history of epilepsy - metallic objects in the brain - clinical diagnosis of major cognitive disorder or dementia - Have risk of suicidal behavior, defined as any suicidal behavior or suicidal ideation of type 4 Caregiver: Inclusion Criteria: -willingness to participate in the study Exclusion Criteria: -motor/cognitive symptoms related to Alzheimer's disease or Huntington's disease that might impair the ability to assist the participant during the research study.

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
N/A
Intervention Model
Single Group Assignment
Primary Purpose
Treatment
Masking
None (Open Label)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Experimental
active tDCS
  • Device: active tDCS
    Participants will receive active tDCS with a constant current intensity of 2mA. Anodal tDCS will be applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, while cathodal electrode will be positioned on the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Caregivers will help setting up and administering tDCS for participants with HD at home. tDCS will be applied for 30min at an intensity of 2mA, with 30 s ramping up and down. Sessions will be remotely supervised by trained research staff (RA), and will run from Monday through Friday for four consecutive weeks.

Recruiting Locations

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Houston, Texas 77030
Contact:
Erin Stimming, MD
713-500-7033
Erin.E.Furr@uth.tmc.edu

More Details

Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

Study Contact

Erin Stimming, MD
(713) 500-7033
Erin.E.Furr@uth.tmc.edu

Notice

Study information shown on this site is derived from ClinicalTrials.gov (a public registry operated by the National Institutes of Health). The listing of studies provided is not certain to be all studies for which you might be eligible. Furthermore, study eligibility requirements can be difficult to understand and may change over time, so it is wise to speak with your medical care provider and individual research study teams when making decisions related to participation.