ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT05561205REACTUpdated Apr 13, 2026

rTMS for Apathy Clinical Trial

An interventional study of rTMS and methylphenidate in Alzheimer Disease, Apathy in Dementia and Dementia, sponsored by Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Recruiting at 1 site in Canada. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-04-13.

Sponsored by Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Feb 2023; still recruiting 3 years 9 months later.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
10
Allocation
Non-randomized
Sex
All
01

Where this study stands

Counted across the records on this site · 2026-11-12

Among 16 studies in Alzheimer Disease by Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre — 8 open to participants now, 8 under way, 1 of them phase 3. Alzheimer Disease · Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

Planned enrollment
12th of 13
10 · median 40
Started
2023
with 1 other
No phase
3 of 16
2 open now
Registered
11th of 16
by date

Among the 16 studies in Alzheimer Disease by Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, this one is the 12th largest by planned enrollment of the 13 interventional ones that give a count, is one of 2 that started in 2023, is one of 3 with no phase, and was the 11th registered.

Alzheimer Disease

3,965 studies on the registry are indexed under Alzheimer Disease; 926 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 10 is below the median of 70 across 3,019 interventional studies indexed under Alzheimer Disease.

Browse Alzheimer Disease studies →

Open to participants now

8 of the 16 studies in Alzheimer Disease by Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre are open now, in 1 country. Each count lists the studies.

All 8 open studies →

Where they have run

Who these studies take

Of the 641 Alzheimer Disease studies recruiting now, 283 (44%) set no upper age limit and 54 (8%) stop at 75 or younger; 34 take children under 18; 283 take healthy volunteers.

This study: all sexes · no healthy volunteers.

The full table on the hub →
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Watch this landscapeDownload CSVNarrow it in search →With an account: a weekly mail of what changed among 16 studies in Alzheimer Disease by Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, or all of them as a file.
02

Study summary

Apathy is a common, early, and disabling symptom in dementias and mild behavioural impairment such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is characterized by lack of interest and enthusiasm. Both repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a form of non-invasive brain stimulation, and methylphenidate, a medication, have been shown to improve apathy. This pilot study will investigate rTMS as a treatment for apathy in neurocognitive disorders and mild behavioural impairment in individuals receiving methylphenidate and individuals not receiving medication for apathy.

03

Conditions studied

  • Alzheimer Disease
  • Apathy in Dementia
  • Dementia
  • Mild Behavioural Impairment
  • Mild Cognitive Impairment
  • Neurocognitive Disorders

Keywords

  • Apathy
  • Alzheimer's disease
  • Neurocognitive disorder
  • Mild behavioural impairment
04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
Child (0–17), Adult (18–64), Older adult (65+)
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

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.

Inclusion criteria

  • mild or major neurocognitive disorder OR mild behavioural impairment
  • Apathy for at least 4 weeks
  • Stable dose of medication (>4 weeks) that may affect cognition or behaviour
  • Care partner who spends at least 10 hours a week with the subject

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Current major depressive episode
  • Agitation, delusions, hallucination
  • Medical to rTMS
  • Currently taking an amphetamine product
  • Central nervous system abnormalities, Tourette's syndrome, or motor tics
  • Current participation in another clinical trial
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Contraindication

A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
10 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    rTMS + methylphenidate

    repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and methylphenidate

    Device: rTMS · Drug: methylphenidate

  • Experimental
    rTMS only

    repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) only

    Device: rTMS

Interventions

  • DevicerTMS

    repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation

  • methylphenidate

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Neuropsychiatric Inventory-apathy

    Measure of apathy on a scale from 0 to 12 with a higher score indicating greater apathy

    Time frame: 2 weeks

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
08

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Started Feb 2023 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Dec 2026, 45 months after the start.

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 planned 45 months is above 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.

Registered
Sep 27, 2022
First posted
Sep 30, 2022
StartActual
Feb 9, 2023
Primary completionEst.
Dec 1, 2026
CompletionEst.
Dec 1, 2026
Last update
Apr 13, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Apr 13, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05561205
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Sep 30, 2022
Start date
Feb 9, 2023
Primary completion
Dec 1, 2026 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 1, 2026 (estimated)
Last update
Apr 13, 2026

Oversight

FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Interested in this study?

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No contact was published for this record. The registry link below has the sponsor’s details.

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Discussion

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Studies of the drug tested here: Methylphenidate

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