Cathodal tDCS in Chronic Migraine: Neurophysiological Study and Pilot Therapeutic Trial (CATCHROMIG)

University of Liege

Status and phase: Completed; Phase 3

Conditions: Chronic Migraine

Treatments: Device: Cefaly tDCS

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02122237

CB-1289

Details and patient eligibility

About

Cathodal tDCS decreases the excitability of the cerebral cortex and its daily application during intercritical phase, may have a therapeutic effect in chronic migraine.

Full description

During the interictal phase, the cerebral cortex is characterised by a hyperresponsiveness to repeated sensory stimuli, manifested by a lack of habituation or adaptation of cortical responses. Lack of habituation has been shown in the visual cortex in studies of visual evoked potentials (VEP) during the interictal period and it is possibly explained by a reduction in the cortical pre-activation level due to thalamo-cortical dysrhythmia. Just before and during the migraine attack, cortical reactivity changes drastically: habituation is restored and the amplitude increases. In chronic migraine (headache occurring on 15 or more days per month for more than 3 months with features of migraine headache on at least 8 days per month), VEPs habituate normally like those recorded during attacks of episodic migraine, but have in addition an increased amplitude in the 1st block of responses. Chronic migraine was therefore compared to a "never ending migraine attack" accompanied by cortical hypersensitivity.

In this study the investigators aim to demonstrate that cathodal tDCS over the visual cortex with simultaneous anodal tDCS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is able: 1) to reduce cortical hypersensitivity and habituation as assessed by VEPs and contact heat evoked nociceptive potentials (CHEPS), as well as to decrease pain perception assessed by quantitative sensory testing (QST) and the nociceptive blink reflex (nBR); 2) to decrease headache and migraine frequency.

Enrollment: 14 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 65 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• diagnosis of chronic migraine (ICHD III beta 1.3) with or without medication overuse

Exclusion criteria

• others diseases or contraindications to tDCS (epilepsy, pacemaker, metal prosthetics)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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14 participants in 1 patient group

Cathodal Cefaly tDCS

Experimental group

Description:

Cathodal Cefaly tDCS is delivered over the visual cortex at 2 mA of intensity, for 20 minutes, everyday for 2 months, in 14 patients. The anode is placed over the left DLPFC.

Treatment:

Device: Cefaly tDCS