Improving Motor Learning in Stroke Patients
Completed
Conditions studied: Cerebrovascular Accident
In brief
No universally successful therapy exists that promotes recovery of motor function after a stroke, the main cause of long-term disability among adults. The purpose of this study is to develop strategies to improve recovery of lost motor function. It will combine motor skills training with a brain-stimulating technique called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Healthy adult volunteers and adult stroke patients will be enrolled in this study. Participants will come to NIH for a clinical and neurological exam, and, if necessary, an MRI \[magnetic resonance imaging\] examination. Participants will return for 4 sessions; each lasting approximately 3 hours. The first will be a practice session during which participants will become familiar with the motor skills required of them in this study, such as performing finger movements on a keyboard, pinching, tapping, making wrist movements, and lifting small items. In sessions 2 and 3, participants will perform the motor skills they practiced in session 1 while receiving tDCS. During session 4, they will receive tDCS only, with no performance of motor skills. During tDCS, investigators will place electrodes with a gel on participants' heads and pass the tDCS current between these two electrodes. tDCS is a painless procedure. Participants will receive up to $420 in compensation for their involvement in this study. ...
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT00067197
- Run by
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
- People needed
- 76
- Starts
- 2003-08-11
- Expected to finish
- 2008-07-17
- Last updated by the study team
- 2017-07-02
Who can join
Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.
You may not qualify if…
- Patients with more than one stroke in the medical cerebral artery territory.
- Patients with bilateral motor impairment.
- Patients with cerebellar or brainstem lesions.
- Patients or Normal Volunteers unable to perform the task (wrist or elbow flexion at least MRC grade 2).
- Patients or Normal Volunteers with severe alcohol or drug abuse, psychiatric illness like severe depression, poor motivational capacity, or severe language disturbances, particularly of receptive nature or with serious cognitive deficits (defined as equivalent to a mini-mental state exam score of 23 or less).
- Patients or Normal Volunteers with history of severe uncontrolled medical problems (e.g. cardiovascular disease, severe rheumatoid arthritis, active joint deformity of arthritic origin, active cancer or renal disease, any kind of end-stage pulmonary or cardiovascular disease, or a deteriorated condition due to age, uncontrolled epilepsy or others).
- Patients or Normal Volunteers with increased intracranial pressure as evaluated by clinical means.
- Patients or Normal Volunteers with unstable cardiac arrhythmia.
- Patients or Normal Volunteers with h/o hyperthyroidism or individuals receiving drugs acting primarily on the central nervous system.
- Patients and Normal Volunteers with more than moderate to severe microangiopathy, polyneuropathy, diabetes mellitus, or ischemic peripheral disease.
- Patients or Normal Volunteers which are or which have been professional piano players.
- Pregnancy.
Where it is running
- National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike — Bethesda, Maryland, United States
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
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