Improvement of Language Disturbances After Stroke by Intensive Training and Electrical Brain Stimulation

University Hospital Muenster

Status and phase: Unknown; Phase 3; Phase 2

Conditions: Stroke; Aphasia

Treatments: Device: anodal tDCS; Device: cathodal tDCS; Device: sham stimulation

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT00822068

Aphasia_tDCS

Details and patient eligibility

About

The study aims to identify if intensive language training, consisting mainly of computer-based object naming, together with electrical brain stimulation, will lead to an improvement of language functions in patients that suffer from language disturbances after a stroke.

Enrollment: 20 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 80 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• chronic stroke (> 1 year after event)
• aphasia due to stroke with naming impairment
• German as first language
• first-ever stroke

Exclusion criteria

• more than 1 stroke
• progressive stroke
• history of severe alcohol or drug abuse, psychiatric illnessess like severe depression, poor motivational capacity
• dementia
• contraindications for Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Crossover Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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20 participants in 3 patient groups, including a placebo group

anodal tDCS

Experimental group

Treatment:

Device: anodal tDCS

2

Active Comparator group

Description:

cathodal tDCS

Treatment:

Device: cathodal tDCS

3

Placebo Comparator group

Description:

sham stimulation

Treatment:

Device: sham stimulation