Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in the Treatment of Primary Progressive Aphasia (NCT05386394)
🩺 Plain-English Summary (8th-Grade Level)
While many have strongly suggested that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may represent a beneficial intervention for patients with primary progressive aphasia (PPA), this promising technology has not yet been applied widely in clinical settings. This treatment gap is underscored by the absence of any neurally-focused standard-of-care treatments to mitigate the devastating impact of aphasia on patients' family, work, and social lives. Given that tDCS is inexpensive, easy to use (it is potentially amenable to home use by patients and caregivers), minimally invasive, and safe there is great promise to advance this intervention toward clinical use. The principal reason that tDCS has not found wide clinical application yet is that its efficacy has not been tested in large, multi-center, clinical trials. In this study, scientists in the three sites that have conducted tDCS clinical trials in North America-Johns Hopkins University and the University of Pennsylvania in the US, and the University of Toronto in Canada, will collaborate to conduct a multi-site, Phase II clinical trial of tDCS a population in dire need of better treatments.
Who can join: To join this study, participants generally need to meet the listed inclusion criteria (4 items) and avoid the listed exclusions (18 items).
Location: Johns Hopkins Hospital — Baltimore, Maryland
📋 "Do I Qualify?" — 1-Minute Self Screener
Instant ChecklistCheck every box below. If you can check all of them, you may meet the study's basic screening requirements (final eligibility is confirmed by the site team).
Usually NOT eligible if any of the following apply:
- Exclusion Criteria:
- Cognitive impairment of sufficient severity to preclude giving informed consent (Mini Mental State Examination \[MMSE\] less than 15)
- Any unrelated neurologic or physical condition that impairs communication ability
- History of unrelated neurological conditions, including but not limited to traumatic brain injury (TBI), stroke, or small vessel disease, that has resulted in a neurologic deficit
- Any additional neurological condition that would likely reduce the safety of study participation, including central nervous system (CNS) vasculitis, intracranial tumor, intracranial aneurysm, multiple sclerosis, or arteriovenous malformations
- A medically unstable cardiopulmonary or metabolic disorder
- Individuals with pacemakers or implantable cardiac defibrillators
- Terminal illness associated with survival of less than 12 months
- Major active psychiatric illness that may interfere with required study procedures or treatments, as determined by the enrolling physician
- Current abuse of alcohol or drugs, prescription or otherwise
- Participant in another drug, device, or biologics trial within 30 days prior to enrollment
- Nursing a child, pregnant, or intending to become pregnant during the study
🔍 Extracted verbatim from the official NIH eligibility criteria. Always confirm with the study coordinator.
📍 All Participating Trial Locations (3 Sites)
- Johns Hopkins Hospital — Baltimore, Maryland
- University of Pennsylvania — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care — Toronto, Ontario
💰 Cost, Insurance & Patient Rights
- 100% Free Items: The investigational treatment and protocol-required procedures are supplied at zero cost by the sponsor.
- Routine Patient Care: Under federal law (ACA § 2709) and many state statutes, routine care costs are covered during participation.
- Voluntary Participation: You may withdraw at any time without affecting your standard medical care.