Home-based TDCS for Cognitive and Behavioral Symptoms in Huntington's Disease: a Pilot Feasibility and Mechanistic Study
The researchers hope to find out effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) sessions on the behavioral symptoms of Huntington's Disease. If participants are eligible to continue, they will be provided a device to administer the tDCS for 30 minutes each day and be asked to answer questions with the study staff . Participants will be asked to return to the study center for follow ups and to undergo additional cognitive tests and questionnaires. Participants will also be asked to answer questionnaires via a web conferencing platform (Zoom) during the course of the study. Caregivers of the participants will be asked to answer questionnaires to collect more information about the participants.
• individuals aged 18-85 years with confirmed HD mutation and/or established family history alongside typical symptoms (i.e., chorea) of HD;
• early (stages 1 and 2) or moderate (stage 3) stages according to Shoulson-Fahn criteria, also known as the UHDRS total functional capacity (TFC) scale (Bates, Tabrizi, and Jones 2014);
• exhibit mild to moderate behavioral symptoms defined by severity scores in the PBA-S between 1 and 3 for any of the evaluated symptoms and no symptoms with a severity score of 4;
• stable doses of medications for at least one month.
• Ability of subject to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document.
• Have a caregiver willing to be present during tDCS sessions and answer questionnaires.
⁃ Caregiver
• An adult who serves as an unpaid caregiver for an individual enrolled in the study as interpreted by the PI or delegate physician.
• Adequate cognitive capacity to provide verbal consent to participate in the caregiver arm of the study.
• Adequate reading, writing, hearing, and verbal capacity to provide collateral information about the study participant as well as answer questions related to their health and care.