Can a zapping headband boost memory in Alzheimer's?
NCT ID NCT07230158
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether a gentle electrical current applied to the scalp (called tACS) can improve memory and thinking in people with mild Alzheimer's disease. Researchers will compare real stimulation to a sham (fake) version in 160 participants. The goal is to see if this safe, non-invasive approach can help slow cognitive decline.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a non-drug way to slow memory loss and thinking decline in early Alzheimer's disease.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage trial with no phase assigned, so results are uncertain. The stimulation may not improve symptoms, and benefits might be small or temporary.
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 160 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Nov 2025
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2027
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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50 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: 1. Patients aged 50-90 years, either inpatients or outpatients; 2. Meeting the NIA-AA clinical diagnostic criteria established by the 2018 National Institute on Aging and Alzheimer's Association (NIA-AA) group for AD-related amnestic mild cognitive impairment (a-MCI) or AD-related mild dementia; 3. Neuropsychological evaluation with MMSE score of 18-26 and CDR score of 0.5 or 1; 4. Positive amyloid PET, or decreased amyloid levels in cerebrospinal fluid, or elevated serum phosphorylated Tau217 protein; 5. Able to communicate proficiently in Chinese (non-illiterate); 6. If currently receiving cholinesterase inhibitor treatment (such as donepezil or rivastigmine), the current treatment dose must be stable (i.e., fixed dose for at least 6 consecutive weeks), with no planned dose adjustments during the study observation period; 7. Signed informed consent form. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Sudden onset; 2. Early focal neurological manifestations or extrapyramidal manifestations; 3. Systemic diseases that may cause cognitive impairment (such as liver or kidney insufficiency, endocrine diseases, or vitamin deficiency), or neurological diseases such as brain trauma, epilepsy, encephalitis, or normal pressure hydrocephalus; 4. Meeting DSM-IV criteria for depression or schizophrenia; 5. Ongoing drug treatments that may affect baseline or follow-up assessments; 6. Contraindications for MRI or neurophysiological examinations, such as cardiac pacemakers, cardiac defibrillators, implanted electronic systems, vascular clips, mechanical heart valves, or cochlear implants; 7. Cranial MRI showing ischemic lesions meeting NINCDS-AIREN criteria.
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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
1 site. 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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Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University
Beijing, Beijing Municipality, 100053, China
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