Zap your brain at home to fight dementia?
NCT ID NCT06821568
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jul 17, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study tests whether 6 months of daily, home-based transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can improve cognitive and motor function in 128 older adults (ages 65-90) with motoric cognitive risk syndrome, a condition that raises dementia risk. Participants use a headset that delivers either real or sham stimulation to the left prefrontal cortex. The main goal is to see if it helps with walking while doing a mental task, with secondary measures of executive function and gait speed.
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 offer a safe, at-home way to slow cognitive decline and improve mobility in older adults at risk for dementia.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage study with only 128 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The stimulation may not produce meaningful benefits, and the sham group helps control for placebo effects.
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
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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
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About 128 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Sep 2025
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2029
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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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
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65 to 90 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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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 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: * Men and women * Age 65-90 years * Subjective cognitive complaints as defined by a 'Yes' response to "Do you feel that you have more problems with memory than most?" or a 'No' response to "is your mind as clear as it used to be?" * Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score ≥21 * Slow gait speed as measured by averaging two 4-Meter walks and defined as a usual walking speed one standard deviation below age and sex-adjusted means. * Absence of significant disability as defined by the ability to walk over the instrumented gait mat unassisted (e.g., able to walk without any walking aids for at least 2 minutes non-stop) and preserved activities of daily living as defined by a score of less than 9 on the Functional Activities Questionnaire. * Identification of an eligible informant * Identification of a willing and able tDCS-administrator; i.e., a study partner to lead the administration of home-based transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) * Access to reliable WiFi in the participant's home Exclusion Criteria: * Formal education less than the 8th grade * Previous physician diagnosis of dementia * Any current diagnosis of a major psychiatric disorder (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder) * Evidence of moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms defined by a score of ≥9 on the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale * History of head trauma resulting in prolonged loss of consciousness * History of fainting spells of unknown or undetermined etiology that might constitute seizures * History of seizures, diagnosis of epilepsy, or immediate (first-degree relative) family history of epilepsy except for a single seizure of benign etiology (e.g. febrile seizures) in the judgment of a board-certified neurologist * Hospitalization within the past three months due to acute illness, or as the result of a musculoskeletal injury significantly affecting gait or balance * Any unstable medical condition or chronic (particularly) uncontrolled medical conditions that may cause a medical emergency in case of a provoked seizure (cardiac malformation, cardiac dysrhythmia, asthma, etc.) or study complication * Substance use disorders within the past six months * A hairstyle or headdress that prevents electrode contact with the scalp or would interfere with the stimulation (for example thick braids, hair weave, afro, wig) * Chronic vertigo * Myocardial infarction within the past 6 months * Active cancer for which chemo-/radiation therapy is being received * Legal blindness * Visual hallucinations (history or self-report) * Pacemaker * Contraindications to MRI or tDCS, including unprovoked seizure within the past two years, risk of ferromagnetic objects anywhere in the body, self-reported presence of specific implanted medical devices (e.g., deep brain stimulator, medication infusion pump, cochlear implant, pacemaker, etc.), the presence of any active dermatological condition, such as eczema, on the scalp, etc. as outlined by current recommendations for noninvasive brain stimulation endorsed by the International Federation for Clinical Neurophysiology. * History of REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), often an early sign of Parkinson's disease * Medications and medical history will be reviewed by the responsible covering physician and a decision about inclusion will be made based on the participant's past medical history, drug dose, history of recent medication changes or duration of treatment, and combination with other CNS active drugs.
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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.
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The places running it
2 sites in 2 countries. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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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
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Hebrew Rehabilitation Center
RECRUITINGRoslindale, Massachusetts, 02131, United States
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Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center
RECRUITINGTel Aviv, Israel
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