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CompletedNCT04257981Updated Jun 18, 2021

Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Upper Extremity of Children With Hemiparesis

An interventional study of Brain stimulator v3.0 and Sham Comparator: Control group in Cerebral Palsy Infantile, sponsored by Majmaah University. Completed at 2 sites in Saudi Arabia. Open to participants aged 5 Years to 12 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2021-06-18.

Sponsored by Majmaah University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
60
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
5 Years to 12 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Purpose: The aim of the study is to determine the combined effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and activities in virtual reality on the functional recovery of the upper extremity function of the children with hemiparesis. Subjects: Forty children with infantile stroke with age group between (6-12 years) will be divided into two groups, the experimental group will receive tDCS plus VR while the control group will receive sham tDCS plus VR. All the children will receive tDCS for 30minutes with 1.5 mA intensity over the dominant motor cortex. Both groups will be treated for three times a week for 6 weeks. Instrumentation: The the Fugl-Meyer assessment, motricity index, and Modified Barthel index will be used to assess the dependent variables after the intervention.

Read the detailed description

One in 4000 full-term infants develops arterial ischemic stroke at the time of birth.5 These children are commonly called an infantile stroke, infantile hemiplegia, perinatal stroke, and congenital hemiplegic cerebral palsy. Epileptic seizures are common in 24-45 % of children suffering from an infantile stroke within a month.6 Noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) is the novel method of delivering therapeutic currents to the brain for the purpose of diagnosis and treatment 7. There is an exponential increase in researches on the effect of NIBS on cognitive deficits. The NIBS has proven to cause neural modulation at the cortical level8. The effect of stimulation is either increased or decreased in neuronal activity, depending on the anodal and cathodal stimulation, firing rate, and period of the activation or inhibition910. There are two types of NIBS techniques safely practiced among humans, these are, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tCDS)11. tCMS uses a weak magnetic field that transforms into beneficial currents into the brain for diagnostic (Single-pulse tCMS) or treatment purposes (repetitive tCMS). The inhibitory or excitatory cortical effects are achieved by decreasing or increasing the frequency and duration of tCMS 12. tCDS involves the use of weak direct or alternating current applied on the scalp via electrodes for the purpose of neural modulation13. The most popular form of tCDS device is a battery-operated stimulator capable of producing direct current ranging from 0.5-2.0 mA14. Neural modulation is achieved by altering the resting membrane potential. The anode causes increased excitability due to its depolarizing effect whereas the cathode electrode causes inhibition due to the hyperpolarization effect14.

Virtual reality (KVR) is the use of a computer interface involving upper limb activity in pediatric rehabilitation. VR creates an artificial environment, presented to the user through appropriate sensory stimulations. Participants use the motion sensor mounted on the paretic hand to interact with the virtual environment. The participants will receive visual and auditory feedback. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the combined effect of virtual reality activities and tDCS on upper limb activity in children with hemiparesis.

02

Conditions studied

  • Cerebral Palsy Infantile
03

In context

Cerebral Palsy

1,853 studies on the registry are indexed under Cerebral Palsy; 435 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 60 is above the median of 33 across 1,368 interventional studies indexed under Cerebral Palsy.

Browse Cerebral Palsy studies →

Lead sponsor

Majmaah University is the lead sponsor of 24 studies on the registry; 2 are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
5 Years to 12 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  1. The congenital stroke survivors with mild to moderate degree of upper limb disability on the Brunnstrom recovery scale16. The scores from 3-4 are considered moderate and 5-6 as a mild degree of upper-limb disability.
  2. Age 5-12 years.
  3. Able to understand simple commands.
  4. Normal vision or with corrected glass

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Hemorrhage in the subarachnoid space
  2. Aphasia
  3. Neurosurgery of brain
  4. Seizures in the past 12 months.
  5. On medication for seizures.
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Triple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator)
Enrollment
60 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Experimental group

    Transcranial direct stimulation + virtual related group: Brain stimulator v3.0 will be used to deliver 1.5 mA current over the scalp corresponding to the primary motor cortex. The current will be delivered via two surface electrodes 5 × 5 cm placed on the scalp Virtual reality (KVR) is the use of a computer interface involving upper limb activity in pediatric rehabilitation. VR creates an artificial environment, presented to the user through appropriate sensory stimulations.

    Device: Brain stimulator v3.0

  • Sham comparator
    Control group

    Sham Transcranial direct stimulation Group + virtual related group; The sham set-up will follow a similar protocol as the experimental group but the intensity of the current will be ceased after 30 seconds of stimulation. Participants in the Sham group will feel the identical sensation as the experimental group and will be unable to differentiate between actual and sham tDCS such procedure is validated in earlier studies.

    Other: Sham Comparator: Control group

Interventions

  • DeviceBrain stimulator v3.0

    Brain stimulator v3.0 will be used to deliver 1.5 mA current over the scalp corresponding to the primary motor cortex. The current will be delivered via two surface electrodes 5 × 5 cm placed on the scalp, validated by the previous research

  • OtherSham Comparator: Control group

    The sham set-up will follow a similar protocol as the experimental group but the intensity of the current will be ceased after 30 seconds of stimulation. Participants in the Sham group will feel the identical sensation as the experimental group and will be unable to differentiate between actual and sham tDCS such procedure is validated in earlier studies

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Baseline and post- intervention Fugl-Meyer motor assessment

    The Fugl-Meyer motor assessment (FM) will be the primary outcome measure. The scale is a reliable and valid measure for upper limb impairment among stroke patients19. The score ranges from 0-66, score less than 18 are considered severe to moderate functional impairment. The scale takes 20 minutes to complete.

    Time frame: 8 Months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Beiseline and post- intervention Motricity Index

    : Motricity Index (MI) upper limb items will be used to evaluate upper limb strength. The tool is found valid and reliable20 in scoring upper limb strength in stroke patients.

    Time frame: 8 Months

  2. Baseline and post- intervention Modified Barthel Index

    Modified Barthel Index (BI) is a valid tool21 to measure functional disability in neurological disability to evaluate the functional disability. The scale will take 45 minutes to administer.

    Time frame: 8 Months

07

Study locations

2 sites
  • Faizan Kashoo
    Riyad, Riyadh 15341, Saudi Arabia
  • Faizan Kashoo
    Riyadh, 11952, Saudi Arabia
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No — Data will be shared by the authors upon request.

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jun 18, 2021, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04257981
Lead sponsor
Majmaah University
Collaborators
Shiekh Abdullah Al-Twejeri Research Chair for Stroke
Responsible party
faizan kashoo, PT (Prinicipal investigator, Majmaah University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Feb 6, 2020
Start date
Jan 3, 2020
Primary completion
Apr 1, 2021
Completion
May 1, 2021
Last update
Jun 18, 2021

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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