Testing Active anodal tDCS against a placebo for macular degeneration
Official title: Learning Study: Improving Vision in Adults With Macular Degeneration
Improving Vision in Adults With Macular Degeneration, Study 2: The Effect of Concurrent Perceptual Learning and Brain Stimulation
- 2 groups
- One site, in Waterloo
- Recruiting
Interventions
- Medical device
Active anodal tDCS
a weak electric current is applied to the head through electrodes to affect the cortical excitability of the targeted cells in the brain.
- Medical device
Sham anodal tDCS
The tDCS machine will be used as in active stimulation, except the electrical current will not be applied.
Canadian Sites (1)
1 of 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
University of Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario
Eligibility Criteria
See who this study is looking for11 criteria
The trial’s own eligibility text, word for word from the registry. Only the trial site can say who takes part.
Inclusion
- +Visual acuity (VA); between 6/9-6/96 in the better eye
- +Diagnosis of AMD (age 60+) or JMD (current age 18+).
- +Best-corrected near visual acuity of 4.0M at 40 cm or better in the better eye
- +Stable vision in previous 3 months (patient report)
- +Central vision loss
Exclusion
- −Diagnosed dementia.
- −Not fluent in reading English (Waterloo) or Chinese characters (Hong Kong).
- −Ocular pathology other than JMD or AMD that can significantly reduce central vision. Example: mild cataract of grade 2 or below is acceptable
- −Severe hearing impairment.
- −Contraindications for brain stimulation
- −Any ocular surgery (including anti-vegF injections) within the duration of the study, except for: A. Chronic and continuous injections for at least 1 year. B. Injections stopped at least 2 months before participation. C. Injections in the untested eye
In plain language
Assembled directly from this trial’s registry record. Every sentence traces to a field below — nothing here is generated or interpreted.
What this study is
This study is testing a treatment for a condition.
This study is not organised into the usual phase numbers — that is common for device, behavioural, and diagnostic research.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- designModule.designInfo.primaryPurpose
- designModule.phases
Who receives what
There are 2 groups in this study.
Group A, the comparison group, receives Active anodal tDCS.
Registry label: A: Active + Training
Group B, the shamSham procedureA procedure made to feel like the real one, without the active step.Read more → group, receives Sham anodal tDCS.
Registry label: B: Sham + Training
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- armsInterventionsModule.armGroups[].label
- armsInterventionsModule.armGroups[].type
- armsInterventionsModule.armGroups[].interventionNames
How the study is run
Which group you would be placed in is decided by chance, like a coin flip — not by you and not by your doctor.
Neither you nor the study team would know which group you are in until the study ends.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- designModule.designInfo.allocation
- designModule.designInfo.maskingInfo.masking
Is there a placebo?
One group receives a sham procedureSham procedureA procedure made to feel like the real one, without the active step.Read more → — one made to feel like the real thing but without the active step.
One group receives an existing treatment, so the two can be compared.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- armsInterventionsModule.armGroups[].type
- armsInterventionsModule.armGroups[].interventionNames
Who the study is looking for
The study lists a minimum age of 18 years, with no upper limit given.
The study is open to people of any sex.
The study does not accept healthy volunteersHealthy volunteerSomeone without the condition being studied who takes part anyway.Read more →.
These are the criteria the study lists. Only the trial siteTrial siteA hospital or clinic where a study is actually run.Read more → can decide whether someone can take part.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- eligibilityModule.minimumAge
- eligibilityModule.sex
- eligibilityModule.healthyVolunteers
How big and how long
The study aims to enrol about 30 people.
The study is currently expected to finish around December 2026.
The main measurement is taken over: The pre test and post test will take roughly 1 hour to complete, and they will be roughly 4-7 weeks apart.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- designModule.enrollmentInfo.count
- statusModule.completionDateStruct.date
- outcomesModule.primaryOutcomes[].timeFrame
What the study measures
Change in Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) Reading performance before and right after training — measured over The pre test and post test will take roughly 1 hour to complete, and they will be roughly 4-7 weeks apart.
Change in Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) Reading performance 30 days after training — measured over The test will take roughly 1 hour to complete, and they will be roughly 7-10 weeks apart.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- outcomesModule.primaryOutcomes[].measure
- outcomesModule.primaryOutcomes[].timeFrame
Source: NCT04762368 on ClinicalTrials.gov. The full registry text is further down this page — this summary never replaces it.
Not medical advice. What do these terms mean?
What is being tested — in plain terms
About Active anodal tDCSDevice
a weak electric current is applied to the head through electrodes to affect the cortical excitability of the targeted cells in the brain.
From the trial registry — its own words, unedited.
What a device is here: A physical instrument, implant, app or piece of equipment being studied.
Read the full explanation → · in clinical review
About Sham anodal tDCSDevice
The tDCS machine will be used as in active stimulation, except the electrical current will not be applied.
From the trial registry — its own words, unedited.
What a device is here: A physical instrument, implant, app or piece of equipment being studied.
Read the full explanation → · in clinical review
Common questions
Answered from this trial’s registry record. Where the record doesn’t say, these answers say so rather than filling the gap.
Am I eligible for this trial?
Only the trial siteTrial siteA hospital or clinic where a study is actually run.Read more → can decide whether someone can take part. Concord cannot make that determination, and neither can any tool that has not examined you.
What the study lists: a minimum age of 18 years.
The full inclusionInclusion criteriaThe things you must have or be for a study to consider you.Read more → and exclusion criteriaExclusion criteriaThe things that would prevent someone from taking part.Read more → are published on this page, exactly as the study team wrote them.
The useful next step is to bring this trial to your doctor. Answering a few questions first gives them something concrete to review.
From the trial registry
- eligibilityModule.minimumAge
- eligibilityModule.eligibilityCriteria
Is there a placebo?
This study includes a shamSham procedureA procedure made to feel like the real one, without the active step.Read more → comparison — a procedure made to feel like the real one, without the active step.
One group receives an existing treatment so the two can be compared.
From the trial registry
- armsInterventionsModule.armGroups[].type
Would I know which treatment I am getting?
Neither you nor the study team would know which group you are in until the study ends.
Which group you would be placed in is decided by chance, like a coin flip — not by you and not by your doctor.
From the trial registry
- designModule.designInfo.maskingInfo.masking
- designModule.designInfo.allocation
Who can join?
The study lists a minimum age of 18 years, with no upper limit given.
It is open to people of any sex.
It does not accept healthy volunteersHealthy volunteerSomeone without the condition being studied who takes part anyway.Read more →.
Only the trial siteTrial siteA hospital or clinic where a study is actually run.Read more → can confirm whether a particular person can take part.
From the trial registry
- eligibilityModule.minimumAge
- eligibilityModule.sex
- eligibilityModule.healthyVolunteers
How long would this take?
The study's main measurement is taken over: The pre test and post test will take roughly 1 hour to complete, and they will be roughly 4-7 weeks apart..
The study as a whole is currently expected to finish around 2026-12.
How long any one person takes part can differ from the study length. The study team can tell you what the schedule looks like in practice.
From the trial registry
- outcomesModule.primaryOutcomes[].timeFrame
- statusModule.completionDateStruct.date
How many people are taking part?
The study aims to enrol about 30 people.
From the trial registry
- designModule.enrollmentInfo.count
Where is this happening?
This study lists one location: Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Sites can open and close during a study, so confirm with the team before travelling.
From the trial registry
- trial_locations
About This Trial
The purpose of this study is to test whether a kind of brain stimulation called anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (a-tDCS) can be combined with perceptual learning to 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 better than if perceptual learning alone were used. 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, while patients undergo six separate sessions of training. The investigators will test the ability of participants to read words before the start of the training sessions (pre test) and after the completion of all training sessions (post test). This is a between-subjects design, and half of the participants will receive true stimulation, and the other half will receive sham stimulation. The difference between the pre and post tests when receiving active stimulation will be compared to the difference when receiving sham stimulation, because the sham stimulation is not expected to influence reading beyond a placebo. The aim of the study is to examine the potential of concurrent brain stimulation and perceptual learning 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 after and secondary measures after perceptual training due to an increase in the cortical excitability of the stimulated brain cells.
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See if this trial could fit youThis page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Clinical trial eligibility can only be determined by the trial site after proper screening. Trial information is sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov and may not reflect the most current status. Always consult your healthcare provider before making decisions about clinical trial participation.