CClinicalTrials.gg
Status unknownNCT02704611Updated Mar 10, 2016

Direct Current Stimulation for Treatment of Fibromyalgia

An interventional study of Real tDCS and Sham tDCS in Fibromyalgia, sponsored by Dina Hatem Elhammady. Status unknown at 1 site in Egypt. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 55 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2016-03-10.

Sponsored by Dina Hatem Elhammady · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

The sponsor has not verified this record recently (last verified Oct 2015), so the status shown — last known as Recruiting — may be out of date.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
36
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 55 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in treating fibromyalgia.

Participants will be randomly assigned to one of the two groups: Group I (Intervention group) tDCS (2mA for 25 minutes on 5 consecutive days/week for 2 weeks with the anode centered over M1 bilaterally Anodal tDCS for 20 minutes at 1.5 mA (15 s ramp in and 15 s ramp out) will be applied daily for 10 consecutive days (5 sessions/week) . The anodal electrode (24 cm² with current density of 0.08 mA (2mA/24 cm²) will be placed over the left primary motor area in group I, and the reference electrode (24 cm² will be fixed over the contralateral arm (extracephalic).

Daily tDCS was given to prolong and stabilize these long-lasting after-effects. Group II will receive sham tDCS will be applied using the above described parameters in group I. For sham tDCS, the placement of the electrodes, current intensity, and ramp time was identical to real tDCS stimulation group; however, the stimulation lasted only for 30 Sec. However, since none of the patients have been experienced tDCS previously, they were unaware of which stimulation is real and which sham is. The investigator responsible for delivering tDCS had no contact with the patients. All study participants will be followed up by the same evaluation sheet and by an evaluator who are blinded to the type of intervention she /he has received.Evaluation will be done pre assessment, post 5 sessions, post 10 sessions, post one month and post 2 months by using wide spread pain index (WPI) \& symptoms severity of fibromyalgia, measuring visual analogue scale (VAS), Depression and anxiety will be assessed using Hamilton Depression Scale (HDS) and anxiety scale, pain sensitivity threshold by using Electronic Von Frey unit EVF4 . Determination of human beta-endorphin level before start sessions and after end 10 sessions.

Read the detailed description

The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in relieving pain of patients with fibromyalgia. Eligible participants will be randomly assigned to one of the two groups: Group I (Intervention group) tDCS (2mA for 25 minutes on 5 consecutive days/week for 2 weeks with the anode centered over M1 bilaterally Anodal tDCS for 20 minutes at 1.5 mA (15 s ramp in and 15 s ramp out) will be applied daily for 10 consecutive days (5 sessions/week) . The anodal electrode (24 cm² with current density of 0.08 mA (2mA/24 cm²) will be placed over the left primary motor area in group I, and the reference electrode (24 cm² will be fixed over the contralateral arm (extracephalic).

Because brief exposure to tDCS has no after-effects whereas researchers used 20min duration in order to produce robust after-effects. Daily tDCS was given to prolong and stabilize these long-lasting after-effects. Group II will receive sham tDCS will be applied using the above described parameters in group I. For sham tDCS, the placement of the electrodes, current intensity, and ramp time was identical to real tDCS stimulation group; however, the stimulation lasted only for 30 Sec. However, since none of the patients have been experienced tDCS previously, they were unaware of which stimulation is real and which sham is. The investigator responsible for delivering tDCS had no contact with the patients. All study participants will be followed up by the same evaluation sheet and by an evaluator who are blinded to the type of intervention she /he has received.Evaluation will be done pre assessment, post 5 sessions, post 10 sessions, post one month and post 2 months by using wide spread pain index (WPI) \& symptoms severity of fibromyalgia, measuring visual analogue scale (VAS), Depression and anxiety will be assessed using Hamilton Depression Scale (HDS) and anxiety scale, pain sensitivity threshold by using Electronic Von Frey unit EVF4 . Determination of human beta-endorphin level before start sessions and after end 10 sessions.

02

Conditions studied

03

In context

Fibromyalgia

1,336 studies on the registry are indexed under Fibromyalgia; 266 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 36 is below the median of 60 across 1,035 interventional studies indexed under Fibromyalgia.

Browse Fibromyalgia studies →

Lead sponsor

Dina Hatem Elhammady is the lead sponsor of 2 studies on the registry; none are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 55 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Patients diagnosed as fibromyalgia according to the American college of rheumatology classification, (ACR) 2010 and referred to any of the above clinics for treatment.

    • Patients must have a mean pain score ≥ 4 on a 10-point visual analog scale (VAS) during the 2 weeks preceding the clinical trial.
    • Patients from nearby districts to ensure good availability for follow-up.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients refused to participate in the trial.
  • Patients with any uncontrolled clinical disease (as evaluated by each patient's clinician), such as any associated rheumatologic, thyroid, cardiovascular, pulmonary, hematologic, or renal diseases, pregnancy, lactation, and neuropsychiatric disorders.
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Participant, Investigator)
Enrollment
36 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Group I

    Real tDCS (2mA for 25 minutes on 5 consecutive days/week for 2 weeks with the anode centered over M1 bilaterally. Anodal tDCS for 20 minutes at 1.5mA (15 s ramp in and 15 s ramp out) will be applied daily for 10 consecutive days (5 sessions/week).

    Device: Real tDCS

  • Sham comparator
    Group II

    Sham tDCS will be applied using the above described parameters in group. For sham tDCS, the placement of the electrodes, current intensity, and ramp time was identical to real tDCS stimulation group; however, the stimulation lasted only for 30 Sec.

    Device: Sham tDCS

Interventions

  • DeviceReal tDCS

    Real tDCS (2mA for 25 minutes on 5 consecutive days/week for 2 weeks with the anode centered over M1 bilaterally. Anodal tDCS for 20 minutes at 1.5mA (15 s ramp in and 15 s ramp out) will be applied daily for 10 consecutive days (5 sessions/week). The anodal electrode 24 cm² with current density of 0.08 mA (2mA/24 cm²) will be placed over the left primary motor area in group I, and the reference electrode (24 cm² will be fixed over the contralateral arm (extracephalic).

    Also known as: Real trans-cranial direct current stimulation

  • DeviceSham tDCS

    Sham tDCS will be applied using the above described parameters in group. For sham tDCS, the placement of the electrodes, current intensity, and ramp time was identical to real tDCS stimulation group; however, the stimulation lasted only for 30 Sec. However, since none of the patients have been experienced tDCS previously, they were unaware of which stimulation is real and which sham is. The investigator responsible for delivering tDCS had no contact with the patients.

    Also known as: Sham trans-cranial direct current stimulation

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in pain Scores as measured by the Visual Analog Scale

    Time frame: 2 months

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • Assiut University Hospital
    Assiut, 71111, Egypt
    • Dina Elhammady, MD · Contact · 1223971467
    • Eman khedr, MD · Contact · emankhedr99@yahoo.com · 1223971457
    Recruiting
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Khedr EM, Omran EAH, Ismail NM, El-Hammady DH, Goma SH, Kotb H, Galal H, Osman AM, Farghaly HSM, Karim AA, Ahmed GA. Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on pain, mood and serum endorphin level in the treatment of fibromyalgia: A double blinded, randomized clinical trial. Brain Stimul. 2017 Sep-Oct;10(5):893-901. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2017.06.006. Epub 2017 Jun 23. PubMed 28684258 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Mar 10, 2016, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT02704611
Lead sponsor
Dina Hatem Elhammady
Responsible party
Dina Hatem Elhammady (Clinical Professor, Assiut University) — Sponsor-investigator
First posted
Mar 10, 2016
Start date
Oct 2015
Primary completion
Jun 2016 (estimated)
Completion
Jun 2016 (estimated)
Last update
Mar 10, 2016

Study contacts

Dina H. El-Hammady, MD
Contact
dinael_hammady73@yahoo.com
00201223971467
Eman Khedr, MD
Contact
emankhedr99@yahoo.com
00201223971457
Eman Khedr, MD
principal investigator · Professor of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is status unknown, as verified in Oct 2015. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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