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Trial details imported from ClinicalTrials.gov
For full trial details, please see the original record at
https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT00763230
Registration number
NCT00763230
Ethics application status
Date submitted
26/09/2008
Date registered
30/09/2008
Date last updated
2/05/2011
Titles & IDs
Public title
A Study of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) to Treat Depression
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Scientific title
A Sham-controlled Study of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) as a Treatment for Depression
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Secondary ID [1]
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NHMRC (Australia)
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Secondary ID [2]
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07305
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Universal Trial Number (UTN)
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Trial acronym
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Linked study record
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Health condition
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied:
Depressive Disorder, Major
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Bipolar Disorder
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Condition category
Condition code
Mental Health
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Depression
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Mental Health
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Other mental health disorders
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Intervention/exposure
Study type
Interventional
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Description of intervention(s) / exposure
Treatment: Devices - Transcranial direct current stimulation
Experimental: active - Full active tDCS treatment
Sham comparator: sham - Placebo tDCS will be give
Treatment: Devices: Transcranial direct current stimulation
tDCS will be given every weekday. For each session, tDCS will be given continuously for 20 minutes at 2 mA. Conductive rubber electrodes (7 x 5 cm, 35 cm2) covered by sponges soaked in saline will be used, held in place by a head band. The current will be gradually increased to the level of 2 mA over 30 seconds (to avoid the sensation of a flash as described in the safety section above). For sham stimulation, the current will be left on for another 30s, then gradually reduced to zero over another 30 seconds, so that the initial tingling sensation experienced by subjects will be identical for the two groups. The stimulator will be placed behind the subject's head so any adjustments to the current by the operator are not evident. This sham procedure resulted in successful blinding in our pilot study.
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Intervention code [1]
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Treatment: Devices
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Comparator / control treatment
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Control group
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Outcomes
Primary outcome [1]
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Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale for Depression (MADRS)
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Assessment method [1]
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Baseline (pre-treatment), post 8, 15, 23 and 30 tDCS sessions, and follow-up 1 week, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months post treatment
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Timepoint [1]
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6 months
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Secondary outcome [1]
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Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (IDS-C)
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Assessment method [1]
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Baseline (pre-treatment), post 8, 15, 23 and 30 tDCS sessions, and follow-up 1 week, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months post treatment
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Timepoint [1]
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6 months
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Secondary outcome [2]
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Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology - Self rated (QIDS-SR)
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Assessment method [2]
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Timepoint [2]
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Baseline (pre-treatment), post 8, 15, 23 and 30 tDCS sessions, and follow-up 1 week, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months post treatment
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Eligibility
Key inclusion criteria
* Meets criteria for DSM-IV Major Depressive Episode
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Minimum age
18
Years
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Maximum age
75
Years
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Sex
Both males and females
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Can healthy volunteers participate?
No
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Key exclusion criteria
* Diagnosis (as defined by DSM-IV) of: any psychotic disorder except bipolar disorder(lifetime); eating disorder (current or within the past year); obsessive compulsive disorder (lifetime); post-traumatic stress disorder (current or within the past year); mental retardation.
* History of drug or alcohol abuse or dependence (as per DSM-IV criteria) within the last 3 months (except nicotine and caffeine).
* Inadequate response to ECT in the current episode of depression.
* Subject is on regular benzodiazepine medication which it is not clinically appropriate to discontinue.
* Subject requires a rapid clinical response due to inanition, psychosis or high suicide risk.
* Neurological disorder or insult, eg recent stroke (CVA), which places subject at risk of seizure or neuronal damage with tDCS.
* Subject has metal in the cranium, skull defects, or skin lesions on scalp (cuts, abrasions, rash) at proposed electrode sites.
* Female subject who is pregnant, or of child-bearing age, sexually active and not using reliable contraception
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Study design
Purpose of the study
Treatment
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Allocation to intervention
Randomised controlled trial
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Procedure for enrolling a subject and allocating the treatment (allocation concealment procedures)
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Methods used to generate the sequence in which subjects will be randomised (sequence generation)
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Masking / blinding
Blinded (masking used)
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Who is / are masked / blinded?
The people receiving the treatment/s
The people assessing the outcomes
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Intervention assignment
Parallel
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Other design features
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Phase
Phase 2
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Type of endpoint/s
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Statistical methods / analysis
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Recruitment
Recruitment status
Completed
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Data analysis
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Reason for early stopping/withdrawal
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Other reasons
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Date of first participant enrolment
Anticipated
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Actual
1/04/2008
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Date of last participant enrolment
Anticipated
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Actual
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Date of last data collection
Anticipated
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Actual
1/01/2011
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Sample size
Target
68
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Accrual to date
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Final
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Recruitment in Australia
Recruitment state(s)
NSW
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Recruitment hospital [1]
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Black Dog Institute, University of New South Wales - Randwick
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Recruitment postcode(s) [1]
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2031 - Randwick
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Funding & Sponsors
Primary sponsor type
Other
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Name
The University of New South Wales
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Address
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Country
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Ethics approval
Ethics application status
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Summary
Brief summary
Depression is a common illness with an approximate lifetime prevalence of 17 %, conferring a large burden of disease in the community, often due to inadequate treatment. Thus there is interest in the therapeutic potential of non invasive, novel forms of brain stimulation, such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Two small studies have been published in the last two years indicating that 20 minutes of either 1 or 2mA tDCS over 5 or 10 sessions is safe, painless and well tolerated. The investigators' own pilot data (N=30) also suggests the technique has antidepressant effects and is safe (5-10 sessions of tDCS at 1 mA). This study will extend previous findings, testing a more definitive tDCS approach (also left prefrontal anodal stimulation) with a longer treatment course (15 sessions), at 2 mA (which has been found to be safe and more effective than 1 mA in cognitive studies), and in a larger sample (N=68), using a placebo-controlled design. It is hypothesised that active tDCS (15 sessions) will have greater efficacy than sham treatment (15 sessions) in reducing the severity of depressive symptoms in patients in an episode of major depression. A second hypothesis is that 15 sessions of tDCS will not cause any significant adverse effects or cause decline in neuropsychological functioning in comparison to a sham control.
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Trial website
https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT00763230
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Trial related presentations / publications
Loo CK, Alonzo A, Martin D, Mitchell PB, Galvez V, Sachdev P. Transcranial direct current stimulation for depression: 3-week, randomised, sham-controlled trial. Br J Psychiatry. 2012 Jan;200(1):52-9. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.111.097634.
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Public notes
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Contacts
Principal investigator
Name
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Colleen Loo
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Address
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University of New South Wales
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Country
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Phone
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Fax
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Email
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Contact person for public queries
Name
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Address
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Country
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Fax
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Email
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Contact person for scientific queries
No information has been provided regarding IPD availability
What supporting documents are/will be available?
No Supporting Document Provided
Results publications and other study-related documents
No documents have been uploaded by study researchers.
Results not provided in
https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT00763230
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