---
title: Reduce freezing through brain stimulation
nct_id: NCT06505460
phase: NA
status: RECRUITING
sponsor: China Medical University Hospital
study_type: INTERVENTIONAL
canonical_url: "https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT06505460"
clinicaltrials_gov: "https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06505460"
last_fetched: "2026-05-10T14:05:18.816Z"
source: "Parkinson's Pathways (curated)"
---
# Reduce freezing through brain stimulation

**Goal (in five words):** Reduce freezing through brain stimulation

**Official Title:** Exploring the Possible Beneficial Impact of Non-invasive and Invasive Neuromodulation on Freezing of Gait in Parkinson's Disease During Different Ambulatory Complexities: An Electrophysiological and fMRI Study

**Trial ID:** [NCT06505460](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06505460)

## Key Facts

- **Phase:** NA
- **Status:** RECRUITING
- **Study Type:** INTERVENTIONAL
- **Sponsor:** China Medical University Hospital
- **Target Enrollment:** 20 participants
- **Start Date:** 2024-04-30
- **Completion Date:** 2025-07-31
- **Conditions:** Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
- **Interventions:** Transcranial direct current stimulation
- **Intervention Types:** DEVICE

## Summary For Families

The goal is to reduce or better understand freezing of gait, the sudden, brief inability to step that many people with Parkinson's experience, especially during more challenging walking situations. The approach uses transcranial direct current stimulation, a gentle, non-invasive electrical current applied across the scalp to increase or decrease activity in brain regions that control walking, and compares effects in people with or without invasive neuromodulation like MR-guided focused ultrasound or deep brain stimulation while recording EEG and fMRI. tDCS is being tested as an add-on to usual treatments such as levodopa, not a replacement, and the team looks at how brain activity and gait change when medications are stable. About 20 adults aged 20 to 90 are being enrolled; eligible people include MRgFUS patients whose symptoms are not controlled by optimal medications and who have had stable meds for at least 30 days, and DBS patients with over 5 years of PD, clear levodopa responsiveness, and motor complications; exclusions include severe heart failure, metastatic cancer, Hoehn and Yahr stage 5, and for DBS candidates overt dementia or major depression.

## Eligibility

- **Minimum age:** 20 Years
- **Maximum age:** 90 Years
- **Sex:** ALL

### Full Criteria

```
Inclusion Criteria:

1. Patients meet the diagnosis of PD based on the established consensus criteria
2. Age above 20 years old and below 90 years
3. For MRgFUS patients: a. At least one of the 3 cardinal symptoms (akinesia, tremor, rigidity) reaches an intensity of at least 2/4. b. Parkinsonian symptoms cannot be satisfactorily controlled by optimal pharmacological treatment including L-dopa and other antiparkinsonian drugs. c. stable medication for PD ≥ 30 days.
4. DBS patients must meet Taiwan Health Insurance criteria: PD duration exceeding 5 years, positive response to levodopa (≥33% UPDRS motor score improvement), and presence of motor complications (e.g., wearing off, on-off, levodopa-related dyskinesia, or medically intractable tremor).

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Congestive heart failure (Functional III or above) or advanced cancer with distant metastasis.
2. PD at Hoehn and Yahr Stage 5.
3. DBS exclusion criteria: overt dementia or major depression.
```

## Locations (1)

- China Medical University Hospital/Neuro Depart, Taichung, Taiwan _(24.1469, 120.6839)_
  - Chon-Haw Tsai, PHD — (CONTACT) — 8864-22052121 — 008079@tool.caaumed.org.tw
  - Bey-Ling Liu, Master — (CONTACT) — 8864-22052121 — bebeydream@hotmail.com.tw
  - Chon-Haw Tsai, PHD — (PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR)

## Central Contacts

- Chon-Haw Tsai, PHD — (CONTACT) — 8864-22052121 — 008079@tool.caaumed.org.tw

---

*Canonical: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT06505460*  
*HTML version: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT06505460*  
*Source data: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06505460*