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Noninvasive Brain Stimulation

Brain Stimulation for Frontotemporal Dementia (GIFTeD Trial)

N/A
Recruiting
Led By Emiliano Santarnecchi, PhD
Research Sponsored by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Eligibility Criteria Checklist
Specific guidelines that determine who can or cannot participate in a clinical trial
Must have
Age from 40 to 85 years
Diagnosis of probable Frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD or svPPA)
Timeline
Screening 3 weeks
Treatment Varies
Follow Up up to 6 months
Awards & highlights

GIFTeD Trial Summary

This trial will study whether a noninvasive brain stimulation treatment is safe and effective in patients with frontotemporal dementia.

Who is the study for?
This trial is for adults aged 40-80 with a diagnosis of probable frontotemporal dementia, who have completed at least the 8th grade and do not have intellectual disabilities. Participants must be on stable medications for cognition or behavior for over 30 days and have certain scores on cognitive tests. Exclusions include significant other diseases, psychiatric conditions, brain injuries, metal head implants (except dental), pregnancy, substance abuse within six months, hairstyles that impede electrode contact, and other neurodegenerative disorders.Check my eligibility
What is being tested?
The study is testing the safety and effectiveness of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) at a frequency of 40 Hz compared to a sham procedure in improving symptoms of frontotemporal dementia. The noninvasive brain stimulation will be administered daily for six weeks. Cognitive function, gamma EEG activity, and brain metabolism are measured before and after treatment.See study design
What are the potential side effects?
Potential side effects may include discomfort at the electrode sites on the scalp during tACS sessions or mild headaches post-treatment. There's also a low risk of provoked seizures in susceptible individuals; however specific exclusion criteria aim to minimize this.

GIFTeD Trial Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

You may be eligible if you check “Yes” for the criteria below
Select...
I am between 40 and 85 years old.
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I have been diagnosed with Frontotemporal dementia.

GIFTeD Trial Timeline

Screening ~ 3 weeks
Treatment ~ Varies
Follow Up ~up to 6 months
This trial's timeline: 3 weeks for screening, Varies for treatment, and up to 6 months for reporting.

Treatment Details

Study Objectives

Outcome measures can provide a clearer picture of what you can expect from a treatment.
Primary outcome measures
Attrition (withdrawal) rate
Change in Brain Metabolism measured via FDG-PET
Change in Cognition
+1 more

GIFTeD Trial Design

2Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Placebo Group
Group I: tACSExperimental Treatment1 Intervention
40 Hz transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), 30 daily (Monday-Friday) 1-hour sessions
Group II: Sham tACSPlacebo Group1 Intervention
Sham transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), 30 daily (Monday-Friday) 1-hour sessions
Treatment
First Studied
Drug Approval Stage
How many patients have taken this drug
Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS)
2019
N/A
~130

Find a Location

Who is running the clinical trial?

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical CenterLead Sponsor
835 Previous Clinical Trials
13,006,596 Total Patients Enrolled
Massachusetts General HospitalLead Sponsor
2,924 Previous Clinical Trials
13,193,353 Total Patients Enrolled
6 Trials studying Frontotemporal Dementia
768 Patients Enrolled for Frontotemporal Dementia
Alzheimer's Drug Discovery FoundationOTHER
21 Previous Clinical Trials
3,071 Total Patients Enrolled
3 Trials studying Frontotemporal Dementia
137 Patients Enrolled for Frontotemporal Dementia

Media Library

Frontotemporal Dementia Research Study Groups: tACS, Sham tACS

Frequently Asked Questions

These questions and answers are submitted by anonymous patients, and have not been verified by our internal team.

Do elderly people aged 80 and above qualify as participants in this experiment?

"According to the stated terms of participation, individuals must be a minimum age of 40 and an upper limit of 80."

Answered by AI

How many participants are partaking in this clinical trial?

"Affirmative. Information on clinicaltrials.gov demonstrates that this trial commenced in the last day of 2020 and is still actively recruiting as recently updated on September 29th 2022, aiming to recruit 70 patients from a single site."

Answered by AI

Who does this trial seek to recruit?

"This clinical trial is enrolling up to 70 individuals with semantic dementia who are older than 40 and younger than 80."

Answered by AI

Is enrollment for this experiment ongoing?

"According to the clinicaltrials.gov data, this medical study is currently recruiting participants. It was initial posted on December 30th 2020 and most recently modified on September 29th 2022."

Answered by AI
~24 spots leftby Dec 2025