Skip to content
Bored Studies
RecruitingAccepts healthy volunteersPhase 2

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in the Treatment of Primary Progressive Aphasia

Johns Hopkins University · with National Institute on Aging (NIA) · NCT05386394

View Study & Apply (opens in a new tab)

Opens the official ClinicalTrials.gov record, with the study team’s contacts. Bored Studies doesn’t enroll anyone.

Key facts

Compensation
Not posted. Ask the study team before screening.
Who can join
Ages 50–90 · All sexes
Healthy volunteers
Accepted
Study type
Interventional · Phase 2
Target enrollment
180
US sites recruiting
2
Study start
February 13, 2024
Record last updated
May 5, 2026

Status re-checked against ClinicalTrials.gov within the last 12 hours.

What the study is about

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.

Being studied: Active tDCS + Language Therapy; Sham tDCS + Language Therapy

Conditions: Primary Progressive Aphasia; Logopenic Progressive Aphasia; Non-Fluent Primary Progressive Aphasia

Eligibility criteria

Copied from the official record. The study team makes the final decision at screening.

Show full criteria

Inclusion Criteria

  • Presence of aphasia attributable to non-fluent PPA or logopenic PPA
  • High school education (or more)
  • Between the ages of 50 and 90
  • Must be able to understand the nature of the study and give informed consent

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
  • Left-handedness

Exclusion for tDCS, specifically:

  • History of spontaneous or partial complex seizures or unexplained loss of consciousness within 6 months of enrollment
  • Subjects with metallic objects in the face or head other than dental apparatus, such as braces, fillings, or implants
  • Subjects with previous craniotomy or any breach in the skull

Exclusion for MRI, specifically:

  • Presence of any of the following devices: cardiac pacemaker, other pacemakers (for carotid sinus, insulin pumps, nerve stimulators, lead wires or similar wires), optic implant, implanted cardiac defibrillator, aneurysm clip, any electronically/magnetically/mechanically activated implant, ferromagnetic implants (coils, filters, stents; metal sutures or staples)
  • Presence of any of the following: pregnancy, claustrophobia, metal in eye or orbit, tattooed eyeliner

Recruiting US locations

  • Johns Hopkins Hospital

    Baltimore, MD 21287

    Site contact: Kyrana Tsapkini, PhD · 410-736-2940 · tsapkini@jhmi.edu

  • University of Pennsylvania

    Philadelphia, PA 19104

    Site contact: Daniela Sacchetti, MS · 215-573-8485 · danielas@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Study contacts (from the official record)

  • Kelly Eun, B.S. · (410) 929 - 0279 · krmeun@jhmi.edu
  • Kyrana Tsapkini, PhD. · 410-736-2940 · tsapkini@jhmi.edu
All healthy volunteers studies in Maryland →