An interventional study of active tDCS in Alzheimer Disease, sponsored by The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston. Completed at 2 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 60 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-10-10.
Sponsored by The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
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Among 1,939 studies in Alzheimer Disease with a site in United States — 345 open to participants now, 445 under way, 40 of them phase 3. Alzheimer Disease · United States.
Among the 1,939 studies in Alzheimer Disease with a site in United States, this one is the 1,553rd largest by enrollment of the 1,608 interventional ones that give a count, is one of 115 that started in 2023, is one of 608 with no phase, and was the 1,480th registered.
3,967 studies on the registry are indexed under Alzheimer Disease; 928 are open to participants now.
Browse Alzheimer Disease studies →345 of the 1,939 studies in Alzheimer Disease with a site in United States are open now. Recruiting first, the newest first:
National Institute on Aging (NIA) · Sites in United States
Ages 55–110 · Healthy volunteers
National Institute on Aging (NIA) · Sites in United States
Ages 65–120 · Healthy volunteers
Prevention Research Consortium Corp. · Sites in United States
Ages 55+ · Healthy volunteers
Hoffmann-La Roche · Sites in United States, Australia, France
Ages 50–90
University of Wisconsin, Madison · Sites in United States
Ages 60+ · Healthy volunteers
A study can be open while its sites in United States have not opened yet or have stopped. Only those recruiting at a site in United States →
Of the 642 Alzheimer Disease studies recruiting now, 283 (44%) set no upper age limit and 55 (9%) stop at 75 or younger; 34 take children under 18; 284 take healthy volunteers.
This study: 60 Years and older · all sexes · no healthy volunteers.
The full table on the hub →This tab as a report to print or save as PDF → With an account.
1,939 studies; the count open now beside each. This study's row is marked.
A study in two phases is counted once above. Listed by phase, each with its combined phases: Phase 1 371 · Phase 2 469 · Phase 3 230 · Phase 4 60
First in 1981; this study’s year is marked. 115 started in 2023.
By drug class, each counting the studies that test any of its medicines:
This study's enrollment of 3 is below the median of 70 across 3,020 interventional studies indexed under Alzheimer Disease.
Median enrollment 73 across the 1,608 interventional studies, 160 across the 309 observational. Of the 1,377 that completed or were terminated, 590 (43%) have results posted.
This tab as a report to print or save as PDF → With an account.
731 of 1,939 have an industry lead sponsor. The 10 most frequent:
The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston is the lead sponsor of 899 studies on the registry; 215 are open to participants now.
Of its 174 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 142 (82%) have results posted.
The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston has 2 studies filed under Alzheimer Disease — fewer than ten, so there is no comparison to draw.
164 of the studies in Alzheimer Disease with a site in United States that are under way reach primary completion within a year, 6 of them phase 3. Phase 3 first, then by date:
| Study | Primary completion |
|---|---|
| NCT06585787Phase 3Karuna Therapeutics, Inc., a Bristol Myers Squibb companyA Study to Evaluate KarXT as a Treatment for Psychosis Associated With Alzheimer's Disease (ADEPT-4) | 2026-11-24 |
| NCT06126224Phase 3Karuna Therapeutics, Inc., a Bristol Myers Squibb companyA Study to Assess Efficacy and Safety of KarXT for the Treatment of Psychosis Associated With Alzheimer's Disease (ADEPT-2) | 2026-12-09 |
| NCT03860857Phase 3University of California, IrvineBiomarker Exploration in Aging, Cognition and Neurodegeneration | 2026-12-22 |
| NCT03887455Phase 3Eisai Inc.A Study to Confirm Safety and Efficacy of Lecanemab in Participants With Early Alzheimer's Disease | 2026-12-31 |
| NCT05980949Phase 3Karuna Therapeutics, Inc., a Bristol Myers Squibb companyOpen-Label Extension Study to Assess the Long-Term Safety and Tolerability of KarXT in Subjects With Psychosis Associated With Alzheimer's Disease (ADEPT-3) | 2027-09-07 |
Add all 164 to your calendar (.ics) → With an account.
Among the 1,939 studies in Alzheimer Disease with a site in United States, from their registry updates:
This tab as a report to print or save as PDF → With an account.
The purpose of this study is to assess acceptability, and safety of providing tDCS to ADRD patients with behavioral symptoms and to assess the efficacy of tDCS for ADRD-related symptoms, mainly behavioral symptoms.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
All participants will receive active tDCS with a constant current intensity of 2mA. Anodal tDCS will be applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, while cathodal electrode will be positioned on the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Caregivers will help setting up and administering tDCS for participants with AD at home. tDCS will be applied for 30min at an intensity of 2mA, with 30 s ramping up and down.
Device: active tDCS
All participants will receive active tDCS with a constant current intensity of 2mA. Anodal tDCS will be applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, while cathodal electrode will be positioned on the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Caregivers will help setting up and administering tDCS for participants with AD at home. tDCS will be applied for 30min at an intensity of 2mA, with 30 s ramping up and down.
Acceptability of the tDCS Treatment as Assessed by the tDCS Acceptability Questionnaire
The tDCS acceptability questionnaire has a total score from 0 to 100, a higher score indicates higher acceptance of the tDCS treatment.
Time frame: week 2
Acceptability of the tDCS Treatment as Assessed by the tDCS Acceptability Questionnaire
The tDCS acceptability questionnaire has a total score from 0 to 100, a higher score indicates higher acceptance of the tDCS treatment.
Time frame: week 4
Acceptability of the tDCS Treatment as Assessed by the tDCS Acceptability Questionnaire
The tDCS acceptability questionnaire has a total score from 0 to 100, a higher score indicates higher acceptance of the tDCS treatment.
Time frame: week 6
Acceptability of the tDCS Treatment as Assessed by the tDCS Acceptability Questionnaire
The tDCS acceptability questionnaire has a total score from 0 to 100, a higher score indicates higher acceptance of the tDCS treatment.
Time frame: week 12
Safety as Assessed by the Side Effects Questionnaire
side effects include itching, burning, headache, fatigue, and dizziness.
Time frame: week 2
Safety as Assessed by the Side Effects Questionnaire
side effects include itching, burning, headache, fatigue, and dizziness.
Time frame: week 4
Safety as Assessed by the Side Effects Questionnaire
side effects include itching, burning, headache, fatigue, and dizziness.
Time frame: week 6
Dementia-related Behavioral Symptoms as Assessed by the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI-Q) Scale
NPI-Q evaluates 12 discrete neuropsychiatric symptoms considering their severity and the related caregiver distress.
Time frame: Baseline, week 2, week 4, week 6, week 12
Apathy as Assessed by the Brief Dimensional Apathy Scale (b-DAS)
This scale consists of 9 questions each one scored from 0(almost always) to 3(hardly ever), higher scores indicate more apathy
Time frame: Baseline, Week 6 and Week 12.
Depressive Symptoms as Assessed by the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD)
This questionnaire has 19 questions and each is scored from 0(absent) to 2(severe). A total score greater than 10 indicates probable major depressive episode and a score of greater than 18 indicates definite major depressive episode
Time frame: Baseline, Week 6 and Week 12.
Cognition as Evaluated by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE)
Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) includes memory, language, praxis and orientation tasks, yielding a global cognition score ranging 0 to 30, with higher scores indicating better performance.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 6 and Week 12.
| Milestone | Active tDCS |
|---|---|
| Started | 3 |
| Completed | 1 |
| Not completed | 2 |
The tDCS acceptability questionnaire has a total score from 0 to 100, a higher score indicates higher acceptance of the tDCS treatment.
No measurements were reported for this outcome.
The tDCS acceptability questionnaire has a total score from 0 to 100, a higher score indicates higher acceptance of the tDCS treatment.
No measurements were reported for this outcome.
The tDCS acceptability questionnaire has a total score from 0 to 100, a higher score indicates higher acceptance of the tDCS treatment.
No measurements were reported for this outcome.
The tDCS acceptability questionnaire has a total score from 0 to 100, a higher score indicates higher acceptance of the tDCS treatment.
No measurements were reported for this outcome.
side effects include itching, burning, headache, fatigue, and dizziness.
No measurements were reported for this outcome.
side effects include itching, burning, headache, fatigue, and dizziness.
No measurements were reported for this outcome.
side effects include itching, burning, headache, fatigue, and dizziness.
No measurements were reported for this outcome.
NPI-Q evaluates 12 discrete neuropsychiatric symptoms considering their severity and the related caregiver distress.
No measurements were reported for this outcome.
This scale consists of 9 questions each one scored from 0(almost always) to 3(hardly ever), higher scores indicate more apathy
No measurements were reported for this outcome.
This questionnaire has 19 questions and each is scored from 0(absent) to 2(severe). A total score greater than 10 indicates probable major depressive episode and a score of greater than 18 indicates definite major depressive episode
No measurements were reported for this outcome.
Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) includes memory, language, praxis and orientation tasks, yielding a global cognition score ranging 0 to 30, with higher scores indicating better performance.
No measurements were reported for this outcome.
Collected over Only 3 participants were enrolled in this study. Of the 3 participants only 1 completed the study. Based on the low enrollment number, no data is reported here in order to protect and maintain participant privacy/confidentiality.. Non-serious events are listed at a 0% frequency threshold.
| Group | Deaths | Serious | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active tDCS | — | — | — |
Only 3 participants were enrolled in this study. Of the 3 participants only 1 completed the study. Based on the low enrollment number, no data is reported here in order to protect and maintain participant privacy/confidentiality.
| Age, Categorical | Active tDCS |
|---|---|
| <=18 years | — |
| Between 18 and 65 years | — |
| >=65 years | — |
| Sex: Female, Male | Active tDCS |
|---|---|
| Female | — |
| Male | — |
| Ethnicity (NIH/OMB) | Active tDCS |
|---|---|
| Hispanic or Latino | — |
| Not Hispanic or Latino | — |
| Unknown or Not Reported | — |
| Race (NIH/OMB) | Active tDCS |
|---|---|
| American Indian or Alaska Native | — |
| Asian | — |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | — |
| Black or African American | — |
| White | — |
| More than one race | — |
| Unknown or Not Reported | — |
| Region of Enrollment(participants) | Active tDCS |
|---|
PDFs hosted by the registry, ClinicalTrials.gov.
Plan to share: No
Ran from Apr 2023 to primary completion in Feb 2024, 10 months.
Results were first posted in Oct 2025, 1 year 7 months after primary completion.
Of 882 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Alzheimer Disease, half reached primary completion within 30 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 15 and three quarters within 51. This study's 10 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 959 studies reached it within 29 months; a quarter within 15 and three quarters within 51.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is completed, as verified in Sep 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston →