THE EFFECT OF tDCS IN THE TREATMENT OF CHRONIC PELVIC PAIN ASSOCIATED WITH ENDOMETRIOSIS

Chronic Pain Clinical Trial

— tDCS  

Official title:

THE EFFECT OF TRANSCRANIAL DIRECT CURRENT STIMULATION (tDCS) IN THE TREATMENT OF CHRONIC PELVIC PAIN ASSOCIATED WITH ENDOMETRIOSIS

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Not yet recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT02161302
• Other study ID #: 14-0092
• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Phase: Phase 2
• First received: June 10, 2014
• Last updated: June 10, 2014
• Start date: June 2014
• Est. completion date: May 2016

Study information

• Verified date: June 2014
• Source: Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre
• Contact: Wolnei Caumo, MD, PhD
• Phone: 51 3359 8083
• Email: caumo[@]cpovo.net
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: Brazil: National Committee of Ethics in Research
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine if transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is effective in the treatment of chronic pelvic pain associated with endometriosis

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Enrollment: 30
• Est. completion date: May 2016
• Est. primary completion date: May 2015
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Female
• Age group: 18 Years to 55 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• age > 18 years old, non-menopausic, with the diagnosis of endometriosis by videolaparoscopy and biopsy, able to understand and write the Portuguese language, in treatment with isolated progestin for at least one month, that have worst daily pain in the analogue visual scale > 4 cm in most of the days in the last month

Exclusion Criteria:

• left-handed women, endometriosis implantation in intestine, bladder or urether (surgical treatment indication), history of intense or frequent headache, chronic dermatologic disease, previous adverse effects to treatment with tDCS, seizures, severe cranial trauma with alteration of the cranial anatomy, metallic intracranial implants or pacemaker, history of pelvic inflammatory disease, non-compensated psychiatric disease, non-collaborative patients, history of neurologic, oncologic disease, heart, renal or hepatic failure.

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Double Blind (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor), Primary Purpose: Treatment

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Chronic Pain
• Endometriosis
• Pelvic Pain

Intervention

Device:
• transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)
The stimulation will be administered with a pair of surface electrodes, sponge coated, soaked in saline. A battery-powered constant current stimulator will be used for this purpose (tDCS device Soterix 1X1). The stimulation is performed by placing the anodal electrode in the primary motor cortex (M1) and the cathodal one in the contralateral supraorbital area and it will use a 2 mA current.
• Sham Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
The sham tDCS consists of the same montage of the active tDCS, but the device is turned off 30 seconds after initiating stimulation (without letting the patient notice it). Rest of the montage is kept identical as the active one during the 20 minutes that the session lasts.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Brazil	Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre	Porto Alegre	Rio Grande do Sul

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Brazil, 

References & Publications (8)

Boros K, Poreisz C, Münchau A, Paulus W, Nitsche MA. Premotor transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) affects primary motor excitability in humans. Eur J Neurosci. 2008 Mar;27(5):1292-300. doi: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2008.06090.x. Epub 2008 Feb 29. — View Citation

Caumo W, Ruehlman LS, Karoly P, Sehn F, Vidor LP, Dall-Ágnol L, Chassot M, Torres IL. Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the profile of chronic pain: screen for a Brazilian population. Pain Med. 2013 Jan;14(1):52-61. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2012.01528.x. Epub 2012 Nov 21. — View Citation

Fenton BW, Palmieri PA, Boggio P, Fanning J, Fregni F. A preliminary study of transcranial direct current stimulation for the treatment of refractory chronic pelvic pain. Brain Stimul. 2009 Apr;2(2):103-7. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2008.09.009. Epub 2009 Feb 28. — View Citation

Nácul AP, Spritzer PM. [Current aspects on diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis]. Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet. 2010 Jun;32(6):298-307. Review. Portuguese. — View Citation

Nitsche MA, Cohen LG, Wassermann EM, Priori A, Lang N, Antal A, Paulus W, Hummel F, Boggio PS, Fregni F, Pascual-Leone A. Transcranial direct current stimulation: State of the art 2008. Brain Stimul. 2008 Jul;1(3):206-23. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2008.06.004. Epub 2008 Jul 1. Review. — View Citation

Nitsche MA, Liebetanz D, Antal A, Lang N, Tergau F, Paulus W. Modulation of cortical excitability by weak direct current stimulation--technical, safety and functional aspects. Suppl Clin Neurophysiol. 2003;56:255-76. Review. — View Citation

Sehn F, Chachamovich E, Vidor LP, Dall-Agnol L, de Souza IC, Torres IL, Fregni F, Caumo W. Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the pain catastrophizing scale. Pain Med. 2012 Nov;13(11):1425-35. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2012.01492.x. Epub 2012 Oct 4. — View Citation

Valle A, Roizenblatt S, Botte S, Zaghi S, Riberto M, Tufik S, Boggio PS, Fregni F. Efficacy of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for the treatment of fibromyalgia: results of a randomized, sham-controlled longitudinal clinical trial. J Pain Manag. 2009;2(3):353-361. — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Other	Depressive symptoms level	Depression symptoms will be assessed by using the Beck II Inventory. It will be assessed before the first session of tDCS (on Treatment day 1), after the end of treatment period (Day 15) and after the follow-up period (Day 29). Total = 3 evaluations.	Treatment Day 1 (before receiving the 1st session of tDCS); Day 15 (at the end of treatment period) and Day 29 (at the end of follow-up period)	No
Other	Anxiety level	Anxiety level will be assessed by State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), adapted to Brazilian Portuguese Language. It will be assessed before the first session of tDCS (on Treatment day 1), after the end of treatment period (Day 15) and after the follow-up period (Day 29). Total = 3 evaluations.	Treatment Day 1 (before receiving the 1st session of tDCS); Day 15 (at the end of treatment period) and Day 29 (at the end of follow-up period)	No
Other	Psychiatric diseases	Psychiatric diseases will be evaluated by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) in the patient screening. Total = 1 evaluation	1day on patient screening	No
Other	Estradiol level	Estradiol blood level will be measured on treatment Day 1 (before receiving the 1st session of tDCS). Total = 1 evaluation	Treatment Day 1 (before receiving the 1st session of tDCS)	No
Other	Adverse Effects	At the end of each tDCS session, the incidence of any adverse effects - paresthesia, headache, dizziness, nausea, neck pain, burns, redness or pain in the scalp, insomnia, abrupt humor changes and lack of concentration - will be questioned to the participant. Total = 10 evaluations	up to Day 29	No
Other	Pain catastrophizing thoughts	The level of catastrophic thinking will be assessed by the Pain Catastrophizing Scale on Treatment Day 1 (before receiving the 1st session of tDCS), after the treatment period (Day 15) and at the end of the follow-up period (Day29). Total = 3 evaluations	Treatment Day 1 (before receiving the 1st session of tDCS); Day 15 (at the end of treatment period) and Day 29 (at the end of follow-up period)	No
Other	Demographic data and comorbidities	Demographic data and comorbidities will be asked in the baseline (before the first session of tDCS). Total = 1 evaluation.	Baseline	No
Other	Change in quality of life	Quality of life will be assessed by the WHOQOL (World Health Organization Quality of Life), in Treatment Day 1 (before the first session of tDCS - considered baseline) and after the treatment period (Day 15). Total = 2 evaluations	Baseline and Day 15	No
Primary	Change in worst daily pain assessed with the visual analogue scale.	Patients will be asked to daily write down their worst pain level (assessed by the Visual Analogue Scale, self-administered) in a paper diary with different scores: global pain, pain during menses, pain during sexual intercourse, pain during urination, pain during defecation. They will also be asked to daily write the analgesic drug intake. Total evaluations: 35 days.	Once Daily. Start 7 days before treatment, everyday during treatment period and every day during follow-up period (total = 35 days)	No
Primary	Changes in motor cortex blood flow assessed by near infrared spectroscopy	Motor cortex blood flow will be assessed before the first session of tDCS (on Treatment day 1), after the end of treatment period (Day 15) and after the follow-up period (Day 29). Total = 3 evaluations.	Treatment Day 1 (before receiving the 1st session of tDCS); Day 15 (at the end of treatment period) and Day 29 (at the end of follow-up period)	No
Primary	Change in Functional Pain Scale	Functional Pain Scale will be assessed by the Brazilian Profile of Chronic Pain: Screen (B-PCP:S) once a week, as folow: On the Treatment Day 1 (before the first session of tDCS - considered baseline), on Treatment Day 8, Day 15, Day 22 and Day 29. Total = 5 evaluations.	Once a week - Treatment Day 1, Day 8, Day 15, Day 22, Day 29	No
Primary	Change in the temperature pain threshold	It will be assessed by the Quantitative Sensory Test (QST) in the dominant (right) forearm. The heat pain tolerance and pain threshold to the heat and the temperature defined as pain 6/10 by the participant. The temperature starts at 32°C, and it heat at a 1.0 °C/sec rate and cools down after a button is pressed or whenever it reaches the max temperature of 52°C. The participant will be asked to press the button at the first sensation of pain to determine the pain threshold; to press the button whenever she can not stand the heat anymore for the pain tolerance determination and, for last, to press the button at the temperature she fells pain equivalent to 6/10 in the numeric scale of pain. The pain threshold and the temperature of pain 6/10 will be determined by the arithmetic mean of 3 evaluations each. Total of 3 test days: Day 1 (before the first session of tDCS), after the end of the Treatment period (Day 15) and at the end of the follow-up period (Day 29).	up to Day 29	No
Primary	Change in effect of the descendent modulator system of pain	It will be assessed by the Conditioned Pain Modulation test (CPM). A nociceptive tonic conditioning stimulus - immersion of the non-dominant hand in cold water (0°C for 1 minute) - will be applied concomitant to the progressive thermal stimulus in the dominant forearm as applied in the QST pattern until it reaches the 6/10 pain temperature previously determined by the participant. It will be tested in Treatment Day 1 (before the first session of tDCS - considered baseline), after the end of the Treatment period (Day 15) and at the end of the follow-up period (Day 29) - Total = 3 evaluation.	up to Day 29	No
Secondary	Change in serum biomarkers level: The brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and interleukins	A blood sample will be colected to measure BDNF and interleukins on Treatment Day 1 (right before the first tDCS session - considered baseline), after the end of the treatment period (day 15) and after the end of the follow-up period (day 29). Total = 3 evaluations	up to Day 29	No