NCT05919485

The Effects of Specific tDCS on Cognition in MCI

Recruiting now NA Last updated 2 May 2025

What this trial tests

NA trial testing tDCS in Alzheimer Disease in 120 participants. Currently enrolling.

Timeline

1 August 2023

Primary endpoint
30 December 2023

15 December 2025

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Istanbul Medipol University Hospital
Phase	NA
Status	Recruiting now
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	parallel
Masking	triple
Primary purpose	treatment
Enrollment	120
Start date	1 August 2023
Primary completion	30 December 2023
Estimated completion	15 December 2025
Sites	1 location across Turkey (Türkiye)

Drugs / interventions tested

• tDCS — full drug profile →

Conditions studied

• Alzheimer Disease — all drugs for Alzheimer Disease →
• Parkinson Disease — all drugs for Parkinson Disease →

Sponsor

Istanbul Medipol University Hospital

Who can join

Adults 45 to 80, any sex, with Alzheimer Disease or Parkinson Disease. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

INTRODUCTION:

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a critical transitional stage in dementia related disorders. Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and the lateral parietal (LPC) cortex are subjected to neuropathological changes in MCI. Parietal memory network (PMN) integrity alterations and default mode network (DMN) alterations also occur in MCI. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a promising neuroprotective tool that modulates functional connectivity and might be useful to interfere with cognitive decline in relation to amnestic MCI (aMCI) and Parkinson's disease-MCI (PD-MCI) when applied to DLPFC and LPC.

METHODS:

This is a multicenter, randomized, and controlled study evaluating the effectiveness of anodal tDCS (atDCS ) applied bilaterally to the DLPFC/F3-F4 and LPC/ P3-P4 for 5 sessions with a total of 10 sessions in 14 days. The stimulation will be delivered with a 2 mA current frequency and will last 20 minutes a day for 5 days a week. The study consists of anodal, and sham control groups with a total of 120 participants with DLPFC and LPC anodal groups including 40 participants each and sham including 40 participants which are all between 45-80 years of age.

At baseline and as an outcome measure, neurocognitive evaluation will be conducted using various tests standardized to use in the Turkish population. Functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) will be used to detect possible PMN and DMN alterations and hippocampal connectivity, and electroencephalogram (EEG) will be used to assess possible electrophysiological alterations that may happen as a result of atDCS. Baseline evaluation will be done before atDCS sessions and it will be repeated at the end of 14 days and 90 days.

DISCUSSION:

This study aims to explore the effectiveness of atDCS in PD-MCI, aMCI and to contribute to the literature in the field.

Publications & conference data

1 peer-reviewed publication reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. Targeting the parietal memory network with tDCS in MCI: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.
   Cankaya S, Akturk A, Karakus A, Hanoğlu L, et al · · 2025 · PMID 41293481 · DOI 10.3389/fnhum.2025.1661790