Home-based Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Open Trial for Behavioral and Cognitive Symptoms in Huntington's Disease

Home-based Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Open Trial for Behavioral and Cognitive Symptoms in Huntington's Disease

The purpose of this study is to assess feasibility, acceptability, and safety of providing transcranial direct current stimulation( tDCS) to Huntingtons Disease (HD) patients in the early to middle stages and to assess the efficacy of tDCS for HD-related behavioral, cognitive and other symptoms

Participant:

Inclusion Criteria:

• confirmed HD mutation carriers 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
• 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
• Have a caregiver willing to be present during tDCS sessions and answer questionnaires.

Exclusion Criteria:

• unstable medical conditions
• history of epilepsy
• metallic objects in the brain
• Have a caregiver willing to be present during tDCS sessions and answer questionnaires.
• clinical diagnosis of major cognitive disorder or dementia
• Have risk of suicidal behavior, defined as any suicidal behavior or suicidal ideation of type 4 or type 5 based on the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) in the 3 months prior to screening
• simultaneous participation in other clinical trial
• Individuals determined to be incapable of consent per past medical history or via assessment by the study staff at time of consent.

Caregiver:

Inclusion Criteria:

-willingness to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

-motor/cognitive symptoms related to Alzheimer's disease or Huntington's disease that might impair the ability to assist the participant during the research study.