<clinical_study>
  <!-- This xml conforms to an XML Schema at:
    https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/html/images/info/public.xsd -->
  <required_header>
    <download_date>ClinicalTrials.gov processed this data on September 20, 2023</download_date>
    <link_text>Link to the current ClinicalTrials.gov record.</link_text>
    <url>https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03026712</url>
  </required_header>
  <id_info>
    <org_study_id>FSLCBM01</org_study_id>
    <nct_id>NCT03026712</nct_id>
  </id_info>
  <brief_title>Hemiparetic Arm Robotic Mobilization With Non Invasive Electrical Stimulation</brief_title>
  <acronym>hARMonies</acronym>
  <official_title>Association of Dual Transcranial Electrical Stimulation (tDCS) to Upper Limb Robotic Therapy in Individuals With Chronic Stroke</official_title>
  <sponsors>
    <lead_sponsor>
      <agency>I.R.C.C.S. Fondazione Santa Lucia</agency>
      <agency_class>Other</agency_class>
    </lead_sponsor>
    <collaborator>
      <agency>Campus Bio-Medico University</agency>
      <agency_class>Other</agency_class>
    </collaborator>
  </sponsors>
  <source>I.R.C.C.S. Fondazione Santa Lucia</source>
  <oversight_info>
    <has_dmc>Yes</has_dmc>
  </oversight_info>
  <brief_summary>
    <textblock>
      The two cerebral hemispheres find themselves in a state of balanced mutual inhibition. A&#xD;
      stroke with involvement of motor function leads to a reduced excitability in affected&#xD;
      hemisphere M1 and to an increased excitability of contralateral M1. Stroke therefore might&#xD;
      impair interhemispheric balance, leading to a decreased inhibition of contralesional&#xD;
      hemisphere by ipsilesional hemisphere and, in turn, to an increased inhibition of&#xD;
      ipsilesional hemisphere by contralesional hemisphere. Permanence of healthy hemisphere&#xD;
      hyperactivation in chronic phase after stroke is usually index of little functional recovery&#xD;
      and is correlated with a greater ipsilateral structural damage.&#xD;
&#xD;
      Robot-mediated physical therapy is an innovative rehabilitation technique that is effective&#xD;
      in stroke patients. In this study, the investigators will add a non-invasive brain&#xD;
      stimulation protocol with Transcranial stimulation with direct current (tDCS) to the robotic&#xD;
      treatment in chronic stroke patients. tDCS is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that&#xD;
      is able to modulate cortical excitability. The hypothesis is that dual t-DCS (ipsilesional&#xD;
      excitation and concomitant contralesional inhibition) could restore interhemispheric balance&#xD;
      improving the benefits of robotic therapy with Armeo Power®.&#xD;
    </textblock>
  </brief_summary>
  <detailed_description>
    <textblock>
      The general theory of the inhibitory interhemispheric competition speculates that, under&#xD;
      physiological conditions, the two cerebral hemispheres find themselves in a state of balanced&#xD;
      mutual inhibition. Accordingly, some electrophysiological and functional imaging studies have&#xD;
      shown that a stroke with involvement of motor function leads to a reduced excitability in&#xD;
      affected hemisphere M1 and to an increased excitability of contralateral M1. Stroke therefore&#xD;
      might impair interhemispheric balance, leading to a decreased inhibition of contralesional&#xD;
      hemisphere by ipsilesional hemisphere and, in turn, to an increased inhibition of&#xD;
      ipsilesional hemisphere by contralesional hemisphere.&#xD;
&#xD;
      This imbalance in cerebral hemispheres excitability tends to decline over the functional&#xD;
      recovery in the first months after stroke, in proportion to the functional recovery of the&#xD;
      ipsilateral structures.&#xD;
&#xD;
      Alternatively, permanence of healthy hemisphere hyperactivation in chronic phase after stroke&#xD;
      is usually index of little functional recovery and is correlated with a greater structural&#xD;
      damage to the ipsilesional corticospinal tract and transcallosal fibers, although some&#xD;
      studies have suggested a vicarious role of healthy hemisphere.&#xD;
&#xD;
      Recently, some authors have proposed a structural reserve-based bimodal model of recovery,&#xD;
      for which the vicarious model would be valid only for patients with poor structural reserves&#xD;
      (and therefore more extensive damage), while the interhemispheric competition model would be&#xD;
      valid for patients with larger structural reserves.&#xD;
&#xD;
      In the light of these data, it is conceivable that procedures aiming at promoting the&#xD;
      re-establishment of a normal balance in interhemispheric interaction can facilitate motor&#xD;
      function recovery of the paretic limb, at least in patients with appropriate structural&#xD;
      reserves.&#xD;
&#xD;
      Transcranial stimulation with direct current (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation&#xD;
      technique that uses low intensity electrical current at constant voltage and variable&#xD;
      duration that is able to modulate cortical excitability efficiently, lastingly (with effects&#xD;
      that begin during stimulation and that last for a few hours from the end of the stimulation)&#xD;
      and safely in healthy subjects: moreover, it is able to produce changes of excitability in&#xD;
      both directions (i.e. towards an increase and towards its reduction) in dependence of&#xD;
      electrodes positioning on the scalp.&#xD;
&#xD;
      Specifically, t-DCS appears to induce metaplasticity phenomena, that is a polarity-dependent&#xD;
      modulation of the response to subsequent synaptic potentiation protocols. Considering these&#xD;
      results and the conclusions of a recent meta-analysis, it seems appropriate to expose a&#xD;
      patient to t-DCS immediately before or in the early stage of intervention aiming at promoting&#xD;
      synaptic plasticity, such as neuro-rehabilitation techniques.&#xD;
&#xD;
      Alongside the traditional physical therapy techniques, during the last twenty years many&#xD;
      research groups around the world have started to develop robots supporting physical&#xD;
      treatments.&#xD;
&#xD;
      A review on robot-mediated physical therapy clinical trials shows how this innovative&#xD;
      rehabilitation technique is effective both in acute and chronic stroke patients, although it&#xD;
      is not proven its superiority over traditional rehabilitation methods.&#xD;
&#xD;
      In this study, the investigators will use a robotic exoskeleton that allows targeted&#xD;
      interventions on specific tasks in the three spatial dimensions; this robot, marketed under&#xD;
      the name Armeo Power® (Hocoma AG, Switzerland), is one of the most advanced rehabilitation&#xD;
      devices for the upper limb. The effectiveness of this tool has been demonstrated in a recent&#xD;
      multicenter trial of chronic stroke patients with moderate-severe upper limb motor deficit.&#xD;
&#xD;
      The purpose of this study is to evaluate the benefits arising from the combination of dual&#xD;
      t-DCS (ipsilesional excitation and contralesional inhibition) and robotic therapy with Armeo&#xD;
      Power® in the treatment of chronic stroke patients with upper limb paralysis.&#xD;
&#xD;
      This study is a double blind randomized controlled trial in which chronic stroke patients&#xD;
      with upper limb paresis undergone robotic treatment with Armeo Power® will be randomized to&#xD;
      concomitant dual tDCS (excitatory on injured side and inhibitory on health side) o sham tDCS.&#xD;
&#xD;
      All patients will undergo an initial evaluation before starting treatment (between 30 and 15&#xD;
      days before the start) where it will be filled in a form with the medical history and the&#xD;
      personal data and will be signed informed consent.&#xD;
&#xD;
      Once eligible, the patient will be subjected to a first clinical evaluation using validated&#xD;
      scales, a kinematic evaluation of upper limb motor performance with ArmeoPower® and a&#xD;
      neurophysiological evaluation.&#xD;
&#xD;
      At the end of the evaluation, every patient will be assigned through a randomized system to&#xD;
      one of two study groups:&#xD;
&#xD;
        -  Group A: robotic treatment with Armeo Power® associated with REAL dual tDCS (anodic on&#xD;
           injured hemisphere, cathodic on healthy hemisphere) - 40 patients&#xD;
&#xD;
        -  Group B: robotic treatment with Armeo Power® associated with SHAM dual tDCS - 40&#xD;
           patients&#xD;
&#xD;
      Immediately prior the start of treatment (time T-1), every participant will perform a second&#xD;
      clinical assessment and kinematic evaluation and will begin treatment on the same day in the&#xD;
      gym of the Private Department of Saint Lucia Foundation.&#xD;
&#xD;
      The ArmeoPower® device is an exoskeleton robot for upper limb rehabilitation able to allow&#xD;
      the patients' execution of movements of proximal (shoulder-elbow movements) and distal&#xD;
      (movements of the wrist) segments of upper limb.&#xD;
&#xD;
      Once the arms of the robot are adapted to patent's upper limb, the exoskeleton is mounted and&#xD;
      set for defining the action areas and the volumes of exploration.&#xD;
&#xD;
      At the beginning of each session, ArmeoPower® exoskeleton will be mounted according to the&#xD;
      patients' stored settings, which takes about 10 minutes.&#xD;
&#xD;
      Once mounted, it will proceed to real or sham tDCS stimulation, depending on the group the&#xD;
      patient belong to.&#xD;
&#xD;
      Participants in group A will perform real dual tDCS stimulation immediately before each&#xD;
      session of the robotic treatment, while patients in group B will perform the treatment with&#xD;
      robotics platform with the same intensity and duration of group A but preceded by sham dual&#xD;
      tDCS stimulation.&#xD;
&#xD;
      Real dual tDCS stimulation requires the application of the anode over the injured motor&#xD;
      cortex (M1) and of the cathode on the healthy motor cortex (M1), so as to simultaneously&#xD;
      perform an excitability suppression of healthy hemisphere and an activation of the ischemic&#xD;
      cortex.&#xD;
&#xD;
      Motor cortex will be simultaneously stimulated at an intensity equal to 1-2 mA and for a&#xD;
      maximum duration of 20 minutes. Sham dual t-DCS requires the application of the electrodes in&#xD;
      the same positions and for the same duration, but without the delivery of electrical&#xD;
      stimulation.&#xD;
&#xD;
      The robotic rehabilitation treatment will be started immediately after the end of&#xD;
      stimulation, and the actual treatment will last for 30 minutes. The robot is able to relieve&#xD;
      the weight of the arm and assisting the patient during motor execution. The patient sees on a&#xD;
      monitor the targets upon which he should move the effector and executes the movement through&#xD;
      the active assistance of the robot, which compensates the patient's motor deficits.&#xD;
      Videogame-based exercises and functional training exercises of daily life activities are&#xD;
      carried out with visual, acoustic and performance feedback. A physical therapist with a&#xD;
      specific training certificate is always present during the sessions, with 1:1 ratio with&#xD;
      patients.&#xD;
&#xD;
      Each patient will perform 5 sessions per week for two consecutive weeks, after which will be&#xD;
      performed clinical, kinematic and neurophysiological evaluations expected to T0; the patient&#xD;
      will then be re-evaluated in follow-up at one month (T1) and at 3 months after the end of&#xD;
      treatment (T2), with clinical and kinematic assessments.&#xD;
&#xD;
      Data will be analyzed using parametric statistics if will appear to be normally distributed&#xD;
      (based on Kolgomorov-Smirnov test with Lilliefors correction), in particular by applying a&#xD;
      two-way mixed model analysis of variance (with an intra- and inter-factor between subjects).&#xD;
      If the data won't appear to be normally distributed, they will be analyzed using Friedman's&#xD;
      analysis for the intra-subject variations, and by Mann-Whitney u-test for variations between&#xD;
      the two groups. The level of significance will be set at 0.05 for all analysis, except for&#xD;
      post-hoc to which is applied the Bonferroni correction.&#xD;
&#xD;
      Guidelines for the safe use of non-invasive brain stimulation (Wassermann, 1998) will be&#xD;
      respected; the participants should be able to signed an informed consent.&#xD;
&#xD;
      There are not literature report of adverse events or contraindications with regard to the use&#xD;
      of ArmeoPower® robotics platform, except for patients with severe deformities of the paretic&#xD;
      upper limb, that are excluded from this study. Data on patients will be anonymous and stored&#xD;
      with password protection. There will be no samples of biological material, drug delivery,&#xD;
      healthy volunteers or animals.&#xD;
    </textblock>
  </detailed_description>
  <overall_status>Completed</overall_status>
  <start_date type="Actual">February 2016</start_date>
  <completion_date type="Actual">December 1, 2021</completion_date>
  <primary_completion_date type="Actual">December 1, 2021</primary_completion_date>
  <phase>N/A</phase>
  <study_type>Interventional</study_type>
  <has_expanded_access>No</has_expanded_access>
  <study_design_info>
    <allocation>Randomized</allocation>
    <intervention_model>Parallel Assignment</intervention_model>
    <primary_purpose>Treatment</primary_purpose>
    <masking>Quadruple (Participant, Care Provider, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)</masking>
  </study_design_info>
  <primary_outcome>
    <measure>Significant Fugl-Meyer Assessment Upper Extremity (FMA-UE) improvement in real dual tDCS group vs sham tDCS group</measure>
    <time_frame>first assessment will occur within 2 days from enrollment, and will be repeated within 2 days from the end of 2 week-training and at 1 and 3 months follow-up</time_frame>
  </primary_outcome>
  <secondary_outcome>
    <measure>Significant Modified Ashworth scale improvement in real dual tDCS group vs sham tDCS group</measure>
    <time_frame>first assessment will occur within 2 days from enrollment, and will be repeated within 2 days from the end of 2 week-training and at 1 and 3 months follow-up</time_frame>
  </secondary_outcome>
  <secondary_outcome>
    <measure>Significant Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) improvement in real dual tDCS group vs sham tDCS group</measure>
    <time_frame>first assessment will occur within 2 days from enrollment, and will be repeated within 2 days from the end of 2 week-training and at 1 and 3 months follow-up</time_frame>
  </secondary_outcome>
  <secondary_outcome>
    <measure>Significant Barthel index improvement in real dual tDCS group vs sham tDCS group</measure>
    <time_frame>first assessment will occur within 2 days from enrollment, and will be repeated within 2 days from the end of 2 week-training and at 1 and 3 months follow-up</time_frame>
  </secondary_outcome>
  <secondary_outcome>
    <measure>Significant kinematic performance improvement, measured by ArmeoPower®, in real dual tDCS group vs sham tDCS group</measure>
    <time_frame>first assessment will occur within 2 days from enrollment, and will be repeated within 2 days from the end of 2 week-training</time_frame>
  </secondary_outcome>
  <secondary_outcome>
    <measure>Significant rebalancing of motor evoked potential (MEP) laterality index in real dual tDCS group vs sham tDCS group</measure>
    <time_frame>first assessment will occur within 2 days from enrollment, and will be repeated within 2 days from the end of 2 week-training</time_frame>
  </secondary_outcome>
  <number_of_arms>2</number_of_arms>
  <enrollment type="Actual">80</enrollment>
  <condition>Stroke</condition>
  <condition>Paresis</condition>
  <condition>Upper Extremity Paralysis</condition>
  <arm_group>
    <arm_group_label>Real tDCS</arm_group_label>
    <arm_group_type>Experimental</arm_group_type>
  </arm_group>
  <arm_group>
    <arm_group_label>Sham tDCS</arm_group_label>
    <arm_group_type>Sham Comparator</arm_group_type>
  </arm_group>
  <intervention>
    <intervention_type>Device</intervention_type>
    <intervention_name>Real dual tDCS + Robotic Arm Therapy</intervention_name>
    <description>Dual tDCS (anodic on injured hemisphere, cathodic on healthy hemisphere). Motor cortex will be simultaneously stimulated at an intensity equal to 1-2 mA and for a maximum duration of 20 minutes just before 30 minutes of arm robotic task oriented treatment performed with an exoskeleton device (Armeo Power).&#xD;
The intervention will be performed 5 times per week for 2 consecutive weeks.</description>
    <arm_group_label>Real tDCS</arm_group_label>
  </intervention>
  <intervention>
    <intervention_type>Device</intervention_type>
    <intervention_name>SHAM tDCS + Robotic Arm Therapy</intervention_name>
    <description>SHAM bilateral tDCS for a maximum duration of 20 minutes just before 30 minutes of arm robotic task oriented treatment performed with an exoskeleton device (Armeo Power).&#xD;
The intervention will be performed 5 times per week for 2 consecutive weeks.</description>
    <arm_group_label>Sham tDCS</arm_group_label>
  </intervention>
  <eligibility>
    <criteria>
      <textblock>
        Inclusion Criteria:&#xD;
&#xD;
          -  Subjects with isolated ischemic stroke, confirmed by brain imaging (MRI, CT)&#xD;
&#xD;
          -  subjects who retain sufficient cognitive functions and language to follow the&#xD;
             instructions given by doctors and therapists&#xD;
&#xD;
          -  subjects with basal Modified Ashworth Scale score under 3&#xD;
&#xD;
          -  subjects with basal Fugl-Meyer score ≥ 3 so that they are not completely paralyzed&#xD;
&#xD;
          -  subjects who have signed informed consent to participate in this study&#xD;
&#xD;
          -  subjects that show stable conditions in the two pre-treatment evaluations, in order to&#xD;
             avoid &quot;Hawthorne effect&quot;&#xD;
&#xD;
        Exclusion Criteria:&#xD;
&#xD;
          -  subjects with chronic paretic limb deformities&#xD;
&#xD;
          -  subjects with complete and flaccid paralysis of all motor performances of shoulder and&#xD;
             elbow;&#xD;
&#xD;
          -  subjects with severe hemineglect (Pizzamiglio battery for unilateral spatial neglect&#xD;
             including letter cancellation test, barrage tests, reading and Wundt-Jastro area&#xD;
             illusion test; patients diagnosed with neglect if 3 of 4 items of this battery are&#xD;
             present)&#xD;
&#xD;
          -  subjects showing an increase in the Fugl-Meyer more than 2.1 points in the second&#xD;
             pre-treatment clinical evaluation, compared to the score of the first evaluation&#xD;
&#xD;
          -  subjects with contraindications to the execution of transcranial magnetic stimulation&#xD;
             - TMS - (pacemakers, metal implants)&#xD;
&#xD;
          -  subjects with epilepsy&#xD;
&#xD;
          -  Previous neurosurgical interventions&#xD;
&#xD;
          -  Severe upper limb osteoporosis&#xD;
&#xD;
          -  Upper limb strength or joint movement limitation due to previous fractures&#xD;
&#xD;
          -  Upper limb strength or joint movement limitation due to previous surgical&#xD;
             interventions&#xD;
&#xD;
          -  Mini Mental State Evaluation (MMSE) &lt;24&#xD;
      </textblock>
    </criteria>
    <gender>All</gender>
    <minimum_age>18 Years</minimum_age>
    <maximum_age>N/A</maximum_age>
    <healthy_volunteers>No</healthy_volunteers>
  </eligibility>
  <overall_official>
    <last_name>Stefano Paolucci</last_name>
    <role>Study Director</role>
    <affiliation>I.R.C.C.S. Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma</affiliation>
  </overall_official>
  <overall_official>
    <last_name>Vincenzo Di Lazzaro</last_name>
    <role>Study Director</role>
    <affiliation>Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Roma</affiliation>
  </overall_official>
  <location>
    <facility>
      <name>I.R.C.C.S. Fondazione Santa Lucia</name>
      <address>
        <city>Rome</city>
        <country>Italy</country>
      </address>
    </facility>
  </location>
  <location>
    <facility>
      <name>Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico</name>
      <address>
        <city>Rome</city>
        <country>Italy</country>
      </address>
    </facility>
  </location>
  <location_countries>
    <country>Italy</country>
  </location_countries>
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    <citation>Zheng X, Schlaug G. Structural white matter changes in descending motor tracts correlate with improvements in motor impairment after undergoing a treatment course of tDCS and physical therapy. Front Hum Neurosci. 2015 Apr 30;9:229. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00229. eCollection 2015.</citation>
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  <verification_date>July 2022</verification_date>
  <study_first_submitted>January 12, 2017</study_first_submitted>
  <study_first_submitted_qc>January 17, 2017</study_first_submitted_qc>
  <study_first_posted type="Estimate">January 20, 2017</study_first_posted>
  <last_update_submitted>July 7, 2022</last_update_submitted>
  <last_update_submitted_qc>July 7, 2022</last_update_submitted_qc>
  <last_update_posted type="Actual">July 8, 2022</last_update_posted>
  <responsible_party>
    <responsible_party_type>Principal Investigator</responsible_party_type>
    <investigator_affiliation>I.R.C.C.S. Fondazione Santa Lucia</investigator_affiliation>
    <investigator_full_name>Giovanni Morone, MD, PhD</investigator_full_name>
    <investigator_title>MD, PhD</investigator_title>
  </responsible_party>
  <keyword>Robotic therapy</keyword>
  <keyword>tDCS</keyword>
  <keyword>non invasive electrical stimulation</keyword>
  <keyword>ArmeoPower</keyword>
  <keyword>interhemispheric balance</keyword>
  <condition_browse>
    <!-- CAUTION:  The following MeSH terms are assigned with an imperfect algorithm            -->
    <mesh_term>Paralysis</mesh_term>
    <mesh_term>Paresis</mesh_term>
  </condition_browse>
  <patient_data>
    <sharing_ipd>No</sharing_ipd>
  </patient_data>
  <!-- Results have not yet been posted for this study                                          -->
</clinical_study>


download date: ClinicalTrials.gov processed this data on September 20, 2023
link text: Link to the current ClinicalTrials.gov record.
url: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03026712
org study id: FSLCBM01
nct id: NCT03026712
lead sponsor: 
collaborator: 
has dmc: Yes
The two cerebral hemispheres find themselves in a state of balanced mutual inhibition. A
      stroke with involvement of motor function leads to a reduced excitability in affected
      hemisphere M1 and to an increased excitability of contralateral M1. Stroke therefore might
      impair interhemispheric balance, leading to a decreased inhibition of contralesional
      hemisphere by ipsilesional hemisphere and, in turn, to an increased inhibition of
      ipsilesional hemisphere by contralesional hemisphere. Permanence of healthy hemisphere
      hyperactivation in chronic phase after stroke is usually index of little functional recovery
      and is correlated with a greater ipsilateral structural damage.

      Robot-mediated physical therapy is an innovative rehabilitation technique that is effective
      in stroke patients. In this study, the investigators will add a non-invasive brain
      stimulation protocol with Transcranial stimulation with direct current (tDCS) to the robotic
      treatment in chronic stroke patients. tDCS is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that
      is able to modulate cortical excitability. The hypothesis is that dual t-DCS (ipsilesional
      excitation and concomitant contralesional inhibition) could restore interhemispheric balance
      improving the benefits of robotic therapy with Armeo Power®.
The general theory of the inhibitory interhemispheric competition speculates that, under
      physiological conditions, the two cerebral hemispheres find themselves in a state of balanced
      mutual inhibition. Accordingly, some electrophysiological and functional imaging studies have
      shown that a stroke with involvement of motor function leads to a reduced excitability in
      affected hemisphere M1 and to an increased excitability of contralateral M1. Stroke therefore
      might impair interhemispheric balance, leading to a decreased inhibition of contralesional
      hemisphere by ipsilesional hemisphere and, in turn, to an increased inhibition of
      ipsilesional hemisphere by contralesional hemisphere.

      This imbalance in cerebral hemispheres excitability tends to decline over the functional
      recovery in the first months after stroke, in proportion to the functional recovery of the
      ipsilateral structures.

      Alternatively, permanence of healthy hemisphere hyperactivation in chronic phase after stroke
      is usually index of little functional recovery and is correlated with a greater structural
      damage to the ipsilesional corticospinal tract and transcallosal fibers, although some
      studies have suggested a vicarious role of healthy hemisphere.

      Recently, some authors have proposed a structural reserve-based bimodal model of recovery,
      for which the vicarious model would be valid only for patients with poor structural reserves
      (and therefore more extensive damage), while the interhemispheric competition model would be
      valid for patients with larger structural reserves.

      In the light of these data, it is conceivable that procedures aiming at promoting the
      re-establishment of a normal balance in interhemispheric interaction can facilitate motor
      function recovery of the paretic limb, at least in patients with appropriate structural
      reserves.

      Transcranial stimulation with direct current (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation
      technique that uses low intensity electrical current at constant voltage and variable
      duration that is able to modulate cortical excitability efficiently, lastingly (with effects
      that begin during stimulation and that last for a few hours from the end of the stimulation)
      and safely in healthy subjects: moreover, it is able to produce changes of excitability in
      both directions (i.e. towards an increase and towards its reduction) in dependence of
      electrodes positioning on the scalp.

      Specifically, t-DCS appears to induce metaplasticity phenomena, that is a polarity-dependent
      modulation of the response to subsequent synaptic potentiation protocols. Considering these
      results and the conclusions of a recent meta-analysis, it seems appropriate to expose a
      patient to t-DCS immediately before or in the early stage of intervention aiming at promoting
      synaptic plasticity, such as neuro-rehabilitation techniques.

      Alongside the traditional physical therapy techniques, during the last twenty years many
      research groups around the world have started to develop robots supporting physical
      treatments.

      A review on robot-mediated physical therapy clinical trials shows how this innovative
      rehabilitation technique is effective both in acute and chronic stroke patients, although it
      is not proven its superiority over traditional rehabilitation methods.

      In this study, the investigators will use a robotic exoskeleton that allows targeted
      interventions on specific tasks in the three spatial dimensions; this robot, marketed under
      the name Armeo Power® (Hocoma AG, Switzerland), is one of the most advanced rehabilitation
      devices for the upper limb. The effectiveness of this tool has been demonstrated in a recent
      multicenter trial of chronic stroke patients with moderate-severe upper limb motor deficit.

      The purpose of this study is to evaluate the benefits arising from the combination of dual
      t-DCS (ipsilesional excitation and contralesional inhibition) and robotic therapy with Armeo
      Power® in the treatment of chronic stroke patients with upper limb paralysis.

      This study is a double blind randomized controlled trial in which chronic stroke patients
      with upper limb paresis undergone robotic treatment with Armeo Power® will be randomized to
      concomitant dual tDCS (excitatory on injured side and inhibitory on health side) o sham tDCS.

      All patients will undergo an initial evaluation before starting treatment (between 30 and 15
      days before the start) where it will be filled in a form with the medical history and the
      personal data and will be signed informed consent.

      Once eligible, the patient will be subjected to a first clinical evaluation using validated
      scales, a kinematic evaluation of upper limb motor performance with ArmeoPower® and a
      neurophysiological evaluation.

      At the end of the evaluation, every patient will be assigned through a randomized system to
      one of two study groups:

        -  Group A: robotic treatment with Armeo Power® associated with REAL dual tDCS (anodic on
           injured hemisphere, cathodic on healthy hemisphere) - 40 patients

        -  Group B: robotic treatment with Armeo Power® associated with SHAM dual tDCS - 40
           patients

      Immediately prior the start of treatment (time T-1), every participant will perform a second
      clinical assessment and kinematic evaluation and will begin treatment on the same day in the
      gym of the Private Department of Saint Lucia Foundation.

      The ArmeoPower® device is an exoskeleton robot for upper limb rehabilitation able to allow
      the patients' execution of movements of proximal (shoulder-elbow movements) and distal
      (movements of the wrist) segments of upper limb.

      Once the arms of the robot are adapted to patent's upper limb, the exoskeleton is mounted and
      set for defining the action areas and the volumes of exploration.

      At the beginning of each session, ArmeoPower® exoskeleton will be mounted according to the
      patients' stored settings, which takes about 10 minutes.

      Once mounted, it will proceed to real or sham tDCS stimulation, depending on the group the
      patient belong to.

      Participants in group A will perform real dual tDCS stimulation immediately before each
      session of the robotic treatment, while patients in group B will perform the treatment with
      robotics platform with the same intensity and duration of group A but preceded by sham dual
      tDCS stimulation.

      Real dual tDCS stimulation requires the application of the anode over the injured motor
      cortex (M1) and of the cathode on the healthy motor cortex (M1), so as to simultaneously
      perform an excitability suppression of healthy hemisphere and an activation of the ischemic
      cortex.

      Motor cortex will be simultaneously stimulated at an intensity equal to 1-2 mA and for a
      maximum duration of 20 minutes. Sham dual t-DCS requires the application of the electrodes in
      the same positions and for the same duration, but without the delivery of electrical
      stimulation.

      The robotic rehabilitation treatment will be started immediately after the end of
      stimulation, and the actual treatment will last for 30 minutes. The robot is able to relieve
      the weight of the arm and assisting the patient during motor execution. The patient sees on a
      monitor the targets upon which he should move the effector and executes the movement through
      the active assistance of the robot, which compensates the patient's motor deficits.
      Videogame-based exercises and functional training exercises of daily life activities are
      carried out with visual, acoustic and performance feedback. A physical therapist with a
      specific training certificate is always present during the sessions, with 1:1 ratio with
      patients.

      Each patient will perform 5 sessions per week for two consecutive weeks, after which will be
      performed clinical, kinematic and neurophysiological evaluations expected to T0; the patient
      will then be re-evaluated in follow-up at one month (T1) and at 3 months after the end of
      treatment (T2), with clinical and kinematic assessments.

      Data will be analyzed using parametric statistics if will appear to be normally distributed
      (based on Kolgomorov-Smirnov test with Lilliefors correction), in particular by applying a
      two-way mixed model analysis of variance (with an intra- and inter-factor between subjects).
      If the data won't appear to be normally distributed, they will be analyzed using Friedman's
      analysis for the intra-subject variations, and by Mann-Whitney u-test for variations between
      the two groups. The level of significance will be set at 0.05 for all analysis, except for
      post-hoc to which is applied the Bonferroni correction.

      Guidelines for the safe use of non-invasive brain stimulation (Wassermann, 1998) will be
      respected; the participants should be able to signed an informed consent.

      There are not literature report of adverse events or contraindications with regard to the use
      of ArmeoPower® robotics platform, except for patients with severe deformities of the paretic
      upper limb, that are excluded from this study. Data on patients will be anonymous and stored
      with password protection. There will be no samples of biological material, drug delivery,
      healthy volunteers or animals.
allocation: Randomized
intervention model: Parallel Assignment
primary purpose: Treatment
masking: Quadruple (Participant, Care Provider, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
measure: Significant Fugl-Meyer Assessment Upper Extremity (FMA-UE) improvement in real dual tDCS group vs sham tDCS group
time frame: first assessment will occur within 2 days from enrollment, and will be repeated within 2 days from the end of 2 week-training and at 1 and 3 months follow-up
measure: Significant Modified Ashworth scale improvement in real dual tDCS group vs sham tDCS group
time frame: first assessment will occur within 2 days from enrollment, and will be repeated within 2 days from the end of 2 week-training and at 1 and 3 months follow-up
measure: Significant Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) improvement in real dual tDCS group vs sham tDCS group
time frame: first assessment will occur within 2 days from enrollment, and will be repeated within 2 days from the end of 2 week-training and at 1 and 3 months follow-up
measure: Significant Barthel index improvement in real dual tDCS group vs sham tDCS group
time frame: first assessment will occur within 2 days from enrollment, and will be repeated within 2 days from the end of 2 week-training and at 1 and 3 months follow-up
measure: Significant kinematic performance improvement, measured by ArmeoPower®, in real dual tDCS group vs sham tDCS group
time frame: first assessment will occur within 2 days from enrollment, and will be repeated within 2 days from the end of 2 week-training
measure: Significant rebalancing of motor evoked potential (MEP) laterality index in real dual tDCS group vs sham tDCS group
time frame: first assessment will occur within 2 days from enrollment, and will be repeated within 2 days from the end of 2 week-training
arm group label: Real tDCS
arm group type: Experimental
arm group label: Sham tDCS
arm group type: Sham Comparator
intervention type: Device
intervention name: Real dual tDCS + Robotic Arm Therapy
description: Dual tDCS (anodic on injured hemisphere, cathodic on healthy hemisphere). Motor cortex will be simultaneously stimulated at an intensity equal to 1-2 mA and for a maximum duration of 20 minutes just before 30 minutes of arm robotic task oriented treatment performed with an exoskeleton device (Armeo Power).
The intervention will be performed 5 times per week for 2 consecutive weeks.
arm group label: Real tDCS
intervention type: Device
intervention name: SHAM tDCS + Robotic Arm Therapy
description: SHAM bilateral tDCS for a maximum duration of 20 minutes just before 30 minutes of arm robotic task oriented treatment performed with an exoskeleton device (Armeo Power).
The intervention will be performed 5 times per week for 2 consecutive weeks.
arm group label: Sham tDCS
criteria: 
gender: All
minimum age: 18 Years
maximum age: N/A
healthy volunteers: No
last name: Stefano Paolucci
role: Study Director
affiliation: I.R.C.C.S. Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma
last name: Vincenzo Di Lazzaro
role: Study Director
affiliation: Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Roma
facility: 
facility: 
country: Italy
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responsible party type: Principal Investigator
investigator affiliation: I.R.C.C.S. Fondazione Santa Lucia
investigator full name: Giovanni Morone, MD, PhD
investigator title: MD, PhD
mesh term: Paralysis
mesh term: Paresis
sharing ipd: No