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Completed

NCT Number: NCT01948947

Improving Functions in MTBI Patients With Headache by rTMS

Due to recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the number of Veteran suffering from Mild traumatic brain(MTBI) injury and PTSD increases rapidly. Headache is one of the most debilitating clinical symptoms in Veteran with MTBI and the cause of it is still not entirely clear. Recently, the use of non-invasive brain stimulation such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation(rTMS) has yielded favorable clinical outcome in a few intractable chronic central pain conditions including headaches. This study aims to 1) assess the effect of rTMS in relieving headache and improving neurophysiological functions; and 2)explore the neuronal mechanisms associated with MTBI related headache and the analgesic effect of rTMS with function magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

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Key information

Conditions

TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) Brain Diseases Brain Injuries Brain Injuries, Traumatic Central Nervous System Diseases Craniocerebral Trauma Nervous System Diseases Trauma, Nervous System Wounds and Injuries

Age range

18 year–50 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA

San Diego, California, 92161, United States

About this study

This study will only be conducted at the Veterans Affair hospital in San Diego.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Male or female age between 18 to 50
  • History of MTBI based on the clinical diagnostic criteria
  • History of headache more than 3 months
  • No prior experience of TMS treatment
  • Pre-treatment headache intensity M-VAS 30(0-100 scale) and average daily headache NPS 3(0-10 scale)
  • At least one headache exacerbation per day
  • A normal brain MRI in the past 3 months

Exclusion criteria

  • Pregnancy
  • History of pacemaker implant
  • Any ferromagnetic(e.g. bullet fragment, shrapnel, device implant) in the brain or body that will prohibit the patients from having a brain MRI
  • History of dementia, major psychiatric diseases, or life threatening diseases
  • Presence of any other chronic neuropathic pain states
  • History of seizure
  • Pending litigation
  • Lack of ability to understand the experimental protocol and to adequately communicate in English
  • History of chronic headache prior to the incidence of MTBI

Treatment and study plan

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Device

Active-repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) at the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex.

Sham Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Device

Sham rTMS will consist of the same parameters as active, however, the subject will be shielded from the magnetic field of the coil.

Primary outcomes

  1. Percent Change in Composite Score of Debilitating Headache (Intensity x Duration x Frequency)

    Time frame: Subjects will have a total of 9 visits over the span of 3 months, the baseline, 1-week follow-up and 1-month follow up will qualify as a time point at which the outcome is measured and averaged.

    The primary outcome time-point measurement will be averaged from each day the subject is enrolled in the study for each of the 3 time point periods: pre-treatment baseline, 1-week follow-up and 1-month follow-up. The results depict change in the composite score: intensity (scale of 0-10) x duration (# of hours) x frequency (# headaches per week). The larger composite score for each subject, the worse the debilitating headaches.

  2. Percent Change in Persistent Headache Intensity

    Time frame: Subjects will have a total of 9 visits over the span of 3 months, the baseline, 1-week follow-up and 1-month follow up will qualify as a time point at which the outcome is measured and averaged.

    The persistent headache measure was assessed through a daily headache log over the course of the subjects participation in the study and averaged for the time point period of baseline, 1-week and 1-month results. The persistent headache is based on a scale of 0-10, the higher the persistent headache intensity averaged score the worse the persistent headache.

  3. Percent Change in Persistent Headache Prevalence

    Time frame: Subjects will have a total of 9 visits over the span of 3 months, the baseline, 1-week follow-up and 1-month follow up will qualify as a time point at which the outcome is measured.

    The persistent headache prevalence measure was assessed through a daily headache log over the course of the subjects participation in the study and collected at baseline, 1-week and 1-month. The persistent headache is defined as having had 3+ continuous headaches over the course of the time point periods and was coded as either yes or no. The results indicate the percent change in the prevalence of persistent headaches for the subjects at the time points. A larger reduction percent indicates a larger decrease in subjects with those persistent headaches.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Percent Change in Depression Score From Baseline to 1-Week Post-treatment

    Time frame: Subjects will have a total of 9 visits over the span of 3 months and 3 of those visits will qualify as a time point at which outcome is measured.

    Subjects assessed how their headaches interfered with their mood through the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression assessment at baseline, 1-week follow-up and 1-month follow-up. The outcome was measured by adding the score of each question on the assessment and then comparing the averaged scores at the different time points. The larger the depression score, the more severe the depression. A larger percent change in depression score indicates a change in the severity of the depression.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

VA Office of Research and Development

Fed

Collaborators

  • United States Naval Medical Center, San Diego

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2014
Primary completion
2016
Study completion
2016
First posted
Sep 24, 2013
Registry last updated
Mar 26, 2018

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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