Could a zapping cap help Alzheimer's patients remember?
NCT ID NCT04122001
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jul 16, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study tests whether a safe, painless brain stimulation technique called tDCS can improve verbal learning in people with Alzheimer's disease. Researchers will compare active stimulation to a sham (fake) version in 90 participants with typical or language-based Alzheimer's. The goal is to see if tDCS, combined with word-list practice, helps people recall words better and understand how the brain changes.
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) - a gentle electrical current applied to the scalp
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a non-drug, at-home treatment to help people with Alzheimer's remember words and slow memory decline.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage study with only 90 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The improvement in memory may be small or temporary, and not all types of Alzheimer's may benefit.
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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90 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Aug 2020
- Expected to finish
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Nov 2026
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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45 to 85 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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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: For the aphasic/atypical AD participants: * Must be between 45-85 years of age. * Must be right-handed. * Must be proficient in English. * Must have a minimum of high-school education. * Must be diagnosed as logopenic variant Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) biomarkers. Other possible diagnosis for the 'aphasic AD' variant would be Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or 'possible AD' according to 2011 guidelines with AD biomarkers (CSF or positron emission tomography (PET) amyloid-beta or fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) with unihemispheric atrophy). * Participants will be diagnosed from PPA and early dementias clinics at Johns Hopkins University or other specialized centers in US using current consensus criteria. Diagnosis will be based on neuropsychological testing, language testing (most commonly the Western Aphasia Battery), MRI and clinical assessment. The investigators will also use two new variant classification tests the investigators have developed at the lab which discriminate PPA variants with great accuracy (above 80%): a spelling test and a speech production test (i.e.,Cookie Theft picture description task). For the amnesic/typical AD participants: * Must be between 45-85 years of age. * Must be right-handed. * Must be proficient in English. * Must have a minimum of high-school education. * Must be diagnosed with 'probable AD' in specialized diagnostic centers with neuropsychological (e.g., RAVLT) and AD biomarkers according to 2011 guidelines. * The investigators will also perform extensive testing in the investigators' test battery including the Mnemonic Similarity Test (MST) that discriminates and measures the most salient hippocampal deficit-pattern separation (PS). Exclusion Criteria: * People with previous neurological disease including vascular dementia (e.g., stroke, developmental dyslexia, dysgraphia or attentional deficit). * People with hearing loss (\> 25 decibel, using audiometric hearing screen). * People with uncorrected visual acuity loss. * People with advanced dementia or severe language impairments (MMSE \< 15, or Montreal Cognitive Assessment \<10, or language Frontotemporal Dementia-specific Clinical Dementia Rating (FTD-CDR) = 3). * 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.
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Johns Hopkins Hospital
Baltimore, Maryland, 21287, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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