Could a magnetic helmet boost memory in Alzheimer's?
NCT ID NCT06088121
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests a device that combines magnetic brain stimulation with cognitive exercises to see if it can improve thinking and memory in people with mild Alzheimer's disease. About 180 participants aged 60-85 will receive either real or sham stimulation along with real cognitive training over 24 weeks. The main goal is to measure changes in standard dementia assessment scores.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- ATNC MDD-V1 device (magnetic brain stimulation plus cognitive training)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a non-drug way to slow cognitive decline in early Alzheimer's.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage trial with no phase designation, so results are uncertain. The sham group also gets cognitive training, which may reduce the apparent 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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About 180 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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May 2023
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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A company
The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.
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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60 to 85 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 who started drug treatment with an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor at least 2 months before participating in the clinical trial and can participate in the clinical trial without changing the dose during the trial period. 2. Male or female age 60-85 years. 3. Patients diagnosed with mild stage of Alzheimer's Disease, according to the NIA-AA (2011) diagnosis. 4. A patient whose dementia was confirmed to be due to Alzheimer's disease by amyloid PET-CT. 5. MMSE score 21 to 26. 6. CDR 1 or GDS 3. ※ For subjects who are excluded from screening based on criteria 5 or 6, if the investigator judges that the subject is likely to be eligible, one repeat screening may be performed. 7. A patient who is deemed physically eligible for the clinical trial based on medical records and physical examination. 8. A patient who is unable to provide voluntary informed consent for the clinical trial due to impaired decision-making capacity, for whom a legally authorized representative provides consent for participation, and who can attend follow-up visits with a caregiver. 9. Patients who agreed to participate in all 24-week clinical trials. 10. Patients with normal ability to see and hear letters. 11. Patients who speak Korean as their mother tongue Exclusion Criteria: 1. Patients with central nervous system (CNS) disorders that may affect cognitive function (such as cerebrovascular diseases including vascular dementia, subdural hematoma, normal pressure hydrocephalus, brain tumors, CNS infections like HIV or syphilis, head trauma, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, etc.) where cognitive decline may be explained by other causes, or in whom dementia types other than Alzheimer's disease are suspected. 2. Patients who have been unconscious due to brain surgery or concussion, or who have signs or symptoms of cranial pressure elevation on neurologic examination. 3. History of Epileptic Seizures or Epilepsy. 4. Patients with a history of drug abuse, including alcohol, in the past 5 years from the time of screening. 5. Patients with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, current major depressive episode, psychosis, panic, post-traumatic stress, severe anxiety, mental retardation, DSM-V disorder. 6. Patients with abnormal vitamin B12, folic acid deficiency, or thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) test results that were considered by the investigator to affect or are caused by the severity of dementia. 7. Patients with metal implants in the head, (i.e. cochlear implants, implanted brain stimulators and neurostimulators, aneurysm clips) with the exception of metal implants. 8. Cardiac pacemakers. 9. Implanted medication pumps. 10. Intracardiac lines. 11. Patients who are currently taking medications that lower the convulsive seizure threshold. 12. Significant heart disease. 13. Patients with severe renal or hepatic impairment※, referring to conditions that significantly affect daily living (e.g., stage 4 chronic kidney disease), with the assessment based on the investigator's judgment. 14. Contraindication for performing MRI scanning. 15. Contraindication for performing amyloid PET-CT scanning. 16. Patients who do not consent to TMS treatment and participation in this clinical trial. 17. Patients who participated in other clinical trials 3 months before participating in this clinical trial. ※ Subjects who participate in non-interventional studies (such as observational studies) that do not affect the subject's disease or symptoms may be enrolled in the study. 18. Patients with a history of TMS treatment within the last 2 years before participating in this clinical trial. 19. Patients judged by the investigator to be unsuitable for participation in clinical trials for other reasons. ※ If the test subject is unable to visit according to the research plan due to unavoidable personal circumstances during the screening period, it will be treated as a screening dropout, and the patient can participate in the study after re-agreeing according to the future schedule. 20. Patients with a history of malignant tumors within the last 5 years. \- Participation is possible if more than 5 years have elapsed without recurrence after the decision to be cured (The point of complete removal of the tumor through surgery or the end of chemotherapy, etc.). 21. Patients who need to take medications suggested in concomitantly contraindicated 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
11 sites. 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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Catholic university of Korea Incheon St. Mary's Hospital
RECRUITINGIncheon, Bupyeong 6(yuk)-dong, Bupyeong-gu, 403-720, South Korea
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Chonnam National University Hopital
RECRUITINGGwangju, Dong-gu, 61469, South Korea
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Chung-Ang University Gwangmyeong Hospital
RECRUITINGGwangmyeong, Deokan-ro 110, 14353, South Korea
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Chungnam National University Hospital
RECRUITINGDaejeon, Jung-gu, 35015, South Korea
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Dong-A University Hospital
RECRUITINGBusan, Seo-gu, 49315, South Korea
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Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital
RECRUITINGGyeonggi-do, Juhwa-ro, Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang-si, 10380, South Korea
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Konkuk University Medical Center
RECRUITINGSeoul, Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, 05030, South Korea
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Korea University Anam Hospital
RECRUITINGSeoul, Seongbuk-gu, 02841, South Korea
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National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital
RECRUITINGGyeonggi-do, Ilsan-ro, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, 10444, South Korea
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Yeungnam University Medical Center
RECRUITINGDaegu, Hyeonchung-ro, Nam-gu, 42415, South Korea
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jeonbuk National University Hospital
RECRUITINGJeonju, Deokjin-gu, 54907, South Korea
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