Could zapping the brain help people with Alzheimer's speak better?
NCT ID NCT03887481
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Sep 10, 2026 · Updated 3 times
Summary
This study tests whether a gentle electrical current applied to specific brain areas can boost the effects of language therapy in people with logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia (lvPPA), a form of Alzheimer's that mainly affects language. Sixty participants will receive either active or sham brain stimulation while doing word repetition exercises. The goal is to see if this combination improves short-term memory for words and generalizes to other language skills.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a non-drug way to boost language therapy and improve communication for people with this form of early-onset Alzheimer's.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage study with only 60 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The benefits may be small or temporary, and not all people respond to brain stimulation.
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
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
-
About 60 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
-
Oct 2022
- Expected to finish
-
Oct 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- 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
-
50 to 80 years
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide 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: * Must be between 50-80 years of age. * Must be right-handed. * Must be proficient in English. * Must have a minimum of high-school education. * Must be diagnosed with Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) or dementia. * Participants will be diagnosed with PPA or with any of the PPA variants in specialized or early dementias clinics at Johns Hopkins University or other specialized centers in the US based on the current consensus criteria. * Healthy age- and education-matched controls: The investigators will include 30 healthy age- and education-matched controls, usually spouses, to maximize similarity in terms of other demographic or life-style factors that contribute to language and cognitive performance. Exclusion Criteria: * People with previous neurological disease including vascular dementia (e.g., stroke, developmental dyslexia, dysgraphia or attentional deficit). * People with uncorrected hearing loss * People with uncorrected visual acuity loss. * People with advanced dementia or severe language impairments: Mini Mental State -Examination (MMSE)\<18, or Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA)\<15, or language Frontotemporal Dementia specific - Clinical Dementia Rating (FTD-CDR)\<=2. * Left handed individuals. * People with pre-existing psychiatric disorders such as behavioral disturbances, severe depression, or schizophrenia that do not allow these people to comply or follow the study schedule and requirements such as repeated evaluation and therapy. Exclusion Criteria for MRI Participation: * People with severe claustrophobia. * People with cardiac pacemakers or ferromagnetic implants. * Pregnant women.
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Logopenic progressive aphasia are added.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
-
The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
-
The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
-
A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Johns Hopkins Hospital
RECRUITINGBaltimore, Maryland, 21287, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can retraining word meanings restore lost speech?
- Can a synthetic cannabinoid calm agitation in frontotemporal dementia?
- Zapping the brain to save words: new hope for PPA?
- Zap your brain to sharper thinking? new trial tests TIS for memory loss
- New support program aims to help spanish-speaking families facing progressive aphasia
- Can speech therapy help those losing their words? new trial aims to find out