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Improving Vision in Adults With Macular Degeneration

NCT04111068 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 21

Last updated 2022-04-29

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The purpose of this study is to test whether a kind of brain stimulation called anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (a-tDCS) can improve the ability of people with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) or juvenile macular degeneration (JMD) to read words presented to them on a computer screen. In addition, secondary measures of visual acuity will also be examined to determine whether brain stimulation can allow patients to resolve finer details of an image. The proposed treatment is the application of a-tDCS onto the participant's head, with brain stimulation aimed at Primary Visual Cortex toward the occipital pole. The investigators will test the ability of participants to read words before and after the application of stimulation. The difference between the pre and post tests when receiving active stimulation will be compared to the difference when receiving sham stimulation, because sham stimulation is not expected to improve reading beyond a placebo. The aim of the study is to examine the potential of brain stimulation as an effective treatment for macular degeneration that may be used in conjunction with more traditional eye-based interventions. The investigators hypothesize that the brain stimulation will enable higher performance in the reading task and secondary measures due to an increase in the cortical excitability of the stimulated brain cells.

Conditions

  • Macular Degeneration

Interventions

DEVICE

anodal tDCS Active Stimulation

a weak electric current is applied to the head through electrodes to affect the cortical excitability of the targeted cells in the brain.

DEVICE

anodal tDCS Sham/Placebo Stimulation

The tDCS machine will be used as in active stimulation, except the electrical current will not be applied.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

    collaborator OTHER

  • University of Waterloo

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Ben Thompson, PhD · University of Waterloo

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2019-12-01
Primary Completion
2022-03-01
Completion
2022-03-01

Countries

  • Canada
  • Hong Kong

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT04111068 on ClinicalTrials.gov