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Zapping the brain to save speech: new hope for aphasia?

NCT ID NCT04046991

Symptom relief Sponsor: University of Pennsylvania Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed This study
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

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Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026

Summary

This study tested whether a gentle electrical current applied to the brain (tDCS) can improve language when combined with speech therapy in people with primary progressive aphasia (PPA), a condition that slowly damages language abilities. 76 adults with two types of PPA received either real or fake stimulation over 10 sessions. Researchers measured language changes right after treatment and again 3 months later, and also used brain scans to understand how the language network responds.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Phase 2

Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.

Participants

76 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Aug 2020

Finished

Jun 2025

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

45 to 80 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Presence of aphasia attributable to nonfluent agrammatic PPA (naPPA) or logopenic variant PPA (lvPPA) 2. High school education (or more) 3. Must be able to understand the nature of the study, and give informed consent 4. Native English speaker Exclusion Criteria: * Presence of additional neurological illness such as stroke or traumatic brain injury * Diagnosis of epilepsy or reoccurening seizures * Pacemaker or ICDs * Craniotomy or skull breech * Small vessel disease

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

aphasia logopenic progressive aphasia primary progressive aphasia progressive non-fluent aphasia

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Primary progressive aphasia

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • University of Pennsylvania

    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, United States

More trials for these conditions

Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.