Brain Stimulation + Language Therapy for Aphasia
(PART-CN Trial)
What You Need to Know Before You Apply
What is the purpose of this trial?
This pilot study tests whether a mild form of brain stimulation to the cerebellum, combined with computer-based language therapy, helps people recover language after a stroke when a poor natural recovery is predicted.
People already taking part in a Johns Hopkins study of stroke and language recovery, whose early data suggest the aphasia is unlikely to resolve without treatment, are invited about 3 months after the stroke. Half begin 15 treatment sessions right away and half begin about 3 months later. Each session pairs 25 minutes of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the right cerebellum with 45 to 60 minutes of language exercises, with a speech-language pathologist present.
The main question is whether language ability, measured with the Western Aphasia Battery-Revised Aphasia Quotient, improves more by 6 months after stroke in the group treated first than in the group still waiting. The study also checks how accurately a machine learning model, built from data collected in the first days after stroke, predicted each person's language ability 12 months after stroke.
Who Is on the Research Team?
Melissa D Stockbridge, PhD, CCC-SLP
Principal Investigator
Johns Hopkins University
Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?
This trial is for people who have had a stroke and are already in a Johns Hopkins study on language recovery. They must show early signs that their language problems (aphasia) are unlikely to improve naturally, about 3 months after the stroke.Inclusion Criteria
Exclusion Criteria
What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?
Interventions
- Cathodal cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation
- Computerized language therapy
Trial Overview
The study tests if mild electrical brain stimulation to the cerebellum, combined with computer-based language therapy, helps improve speech and understanding in people at risk of poor aphasia recovery after stroke. Participants get either immediate or delayed treatment.
How Is the Trial Designed?
2
Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Usual care, which may include outpatient speech-language therapy, from about 3 to 6 months post-stroke; then the same 15-session protocol of cathodal right cerebellar tDCS plus computerized language therapy, beginning about 6 months post-stroke.
15 sessions of cathodal right cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS; 2 mA, 25 minutes) during computerized language therapy (45 to 60 minutes per session, with a speech-language pathologist present), up to 5 sessions per week over about 3 to 5 weeks, beginning about 3 months post-stroke.
Find a Clinic Near You
Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?
Johns Hopkins University
Lead Sponsor
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Collaborator
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