tACS for Neuropathic Pain After Spinal Cord Injury
This study is looking into a new way to help manage neuropathic pain (nerve pain) after a spinal cord injury. It's testing a treatment called transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), which applies a gentle electrical current to the brain through the scalp. Researchers will compare different frequencies of tACS (10Hz and 20Hz) to a sham tACS (a device that looks and feels like tACS but doesn't deliver the active treatment). They want to see if tACS can reduce your pain, measured by a pain scale, and if it affects your heart rate variability. You might be able to join if you are 18-75 years old, have had chronic neuropathic pain for over 3 months after a spinal cord injury, and are on stable pain medications. The study plans to enroll 14 participants.
- Study design
- This is an interventional study, meaning participants will receive a specific treatment. It plans to enroll 14 participants.
- What's involved
- The study involves receiving tACS or sham tACS applied to the brain for 20 minutes. Your pain will be measured 5 minutes before and after the intervention, and your heart rate variability will be measured 10-15 minutes before and after.
- Compensation
- Not stated in the trial record.
- Follow-up
- Not specified.
AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.
tACS for Neuropathic Pain Management After SCI
At a glance
Conditions
Where it's being run
1 sites across 1 statesStudy leadership
- Sheng Li, MD, Ph.D · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
Who to contact
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What this trial measures
- Pain scale (visual analogue scale, VAS) measurementChange of VAS 5 minutes before and after the tACS intervention will be measured.
The visual analog scale (VAS) is a validated, subjective measure for acute and chronic pain. Scores are recorded by making a handwritten mark on a 10-cm line that represents a continuum between "no pain" and "worst pain."
- Heart rate variability (HRV) measurementChange of HRV 10-15 minutes before and after the tACS intervention will be measured.
Heart rate variability (HRV) is the fluctuation in the time intervals between adjacent heartbeats (1). HRV indexes neurocardiac function and is generated by heart-brain interactions and dynamic non-linear autonomic nervous system (ANS) processes. HRV will be used as a surrogate assessment for autonomic nerve system