TMS for the Treatment of Primary Progressive Aphasia
Logopenic Variant Primary Progressive Aphasia, Non-fluent Variant Primary Progressive Aphasia, Semantic Variant Primary Progressive Aphasia
About this trial
This is an interventional other trial for Logopenic Variant Primary Progressive Aphasia
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- Patients, age 18-90, who carry a diagnosis of either the logopenic (lvPPA), agrammatic non-fluent (nfvPPA) or semantic (svPPA) variants of Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA). Patients must have been observed for at least one year by a specialized clinician.
- Patients must have at least mild to moderate language impairment.
- Patients must be native English speakers.
- Patients must have a study partner (e.g. spouse, sibling or adult child) who can accompany them to every study visit.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Any history of seizures, unexplained loss of consciousness or a first-degree family member with epilepsy.
- Any history of significant co-occurring neurological illness unrelated to neurodegeneration associated with PPA (e.g. multiple sclerosis), or significant medical problems (e.g. poorly controlled diabetes/hypertension or cancer within 5 years).
- Active symptoms of major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, substance use disorder or significant premorbid intellectual disability according to Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM-5) criteria.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) evidence of significant cerebrovascular disease, hydrocephalus or the presence of a space-occupying intra-cranial mass.
Contraindications to MRI or repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) including: cardiac pacemaker or pacemaker wires, neurostimulators, implanted pumps, metal in the body (rods, plates, screws, shrapnel, dentures, intrauterine device), surgical aneurysm clips in the head, previous neurosurgery or cochlear implants.
- In line with published Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Institutional Review Board (IRB) guidelines for rTMS, pregnancy must be ruled out by urine ß-Human Chorionic Gonadotropin if answers to screening questions suggest that pregnancy is possible and if female participants are premenopausal and of child-bearing age. Subjects will not be able to enroll if they are breastfeeding.
Sites / Locations
- Massachusetts General HospitalRecruiting
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Experimental
PPA patients
All study participants will carry a diagnosis of Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA), either the logopenic, the non-fluent variant or the semantic variant. All participants will receive the same study interventions in a within-subject crossover design.