Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Treatment for Warriors Experiencing Chronic Pain

Summary

The Veteran population has been known to deal with co-morbid chronic pain and PTSD. As a result, they use healthcare services at a higher rate than those Veterans with pain or PTSD alone which leads to an amplified burden on healthcare systems.

tDCS is a painless brain stimulation treatment that uses direct electrical currents (at a constant, low-intensity level) to stimulate specific parts of the brain and help modulate neuronal activity. This study hypothesizes that our short-term therapy-focused treatment program coupled with tDCS administrations will aid in the reduction of chronic pain and PTSD symptoms. Secondly, the investigators intend to examine any relationships between BDNF reduction in reported pain and PTSD and related mental health symptoms. Subjects will be identified from the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program (EHVP-IOP) Veterans and Service members seeking psychiatric treatment for mental health issues including PTSD.

Conditions

• Chronic Pain
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Depression

Interventions

DEVICE

tDCS

tDCS is a painless brain stimulation treatment that uses direct electrical currents (at a constant, low-intensity level) to stimulate specific parts of the brain and help modulate neuronal activity. Participants will receive a series of tDCS treatments during the Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) coupled with blood and saliva collections. Participants will administer a stimulation session via the Soterix 1x1 tDCS mini-CT Stimulator, after being provided a single-use code to unlock the device by the research staff once proper contact quality is achieved. After the participant enters the unlock code, the screen on the device will show a timer that counts down the minutes until the end of the session. After 20 min, the device will turn off automatically and the study staff will instruct the participant to remove the headset and discard the sponges and to store safely all materials for the next session.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Wounded Warrior Project

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Emory University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Sheila Rauch, PhD · Emory University

• Barbara O Rothbaum · Emory University

• Boadie W Dunlop, MD · Emory University

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

89 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-03-04

Primary Completion

2025-05-31

Completion

2025-05-31

FDA Device

Yes

Countries

• United States

Study Locations