Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation clinical trials at UCLA

This research study is to find out if brain stimulation at different dosage level combined with an efficacy-proven rehabilitation therapy can improve arm function. The stimulation technique is called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). The treatment uses direct currents to stimulate specific parts of the brain affected by stroke. The adjunctive rehabilitation therapy is called "modified Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy" (mCIMT). During this therapy the subject will wear a mitt on the hand of the arm that was not affected by a stroke and force to use the weak arm. The study will test 3 different doses of brain stimulation in combination with mCIMT to find out the most promising one.

Many patients with acute ischemic stroke are ineligible for currently available standard treatments (clot-busting medication, also known as intravenous thrombolytic or mechanical removal of a clot), and many are non-responders, resulting in a low rate of excellent outcomes, which necessitates the development of novel therapies. In this study, investigators are testing a new treatment in which a weak electrical current will be applied via scalp electrodes to increase collateral blood flow to the brain and rescue the brain tissue at risk of injury. The primary aim is to find an optimal dose of this therapy that is both adequately safe and effective on imaging markers of brain tissue rescue.