The Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Central Pain in Patients With Spinal Cord Injury

Seoul National University Bundang Hospital16 enrolled

Overview

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the analgesic effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied on motor cortex in patients with spinal cord injury who have chronic neuropathic pain.

* anodal stimulation of the primary motor cortex (M1) * anode electrode: C3 (EEG 10/20 system) * cathode electrode: contralateral supraorbital area * constant current of 2mA intensity for 20 min * twice a day with a more than 4 hours interval during of 2 weeks (from Monday to Friday, total 20 treatment session)

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Neuropathic Pain Spinal Cord Injury

Interventions

transcranial direct current stimulationDEVICE

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 30 YearsMax age: 60 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * elapsed time since spinal cord injury more than 6 months * stable chronic pain for at least 3 preceding months * pain that was not attributable to cause other that neuropathic pain * pain that was resistant to various types of medications or physical or complementary medicine treatment Exclusion Criteria: * any kind of metal implant in the head * heart disease including having a cardiac maker * family or personal history of epilepsy, or neuropsychiatric illness

Locations (1)

Seoul National University Bundang Hospital

Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Numeric rating scale for average pain over the preceding 24h

Time frame: before the first tDCS session, and 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 wk after the start of the stimulation

Secondary Outcomes

Patient global impression of change for pain

Time frame: before the first tDCS session, and 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 wk after the start of the stimulation

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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