Accelerated Treatment of Depressive Patients With tDCS

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Transcranial direct current stimulation: Non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), have gained increasing attention in recent years in both research and the treatment of various psychiatric disorders (Alonzo et al., 2019; Lefaucher et al., 2017). Compared to other neuromodulation methods, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), tDCS offers the advantage of mobile or outpatient use, including home-based application. tDCS devices are small, portable, and cost-effective, and they are associated with a favorable side-effect profile (Alonzo et al., 2019).

Study summary

A randomized, controlled three-arm study is planned to investigate the effectiveness and feasibility of an accelerated home-based tDCS application (3 weeks of transcranial direct current stimulation at home, twice daily). A total of 30 patients with depression (10 per group), who are currently not taking and have no history of taking antidepressant medication, will be randomly assigned to either an active tDCS condition, a sham (placebo) tDCS condition, or a waitlist control group. The latter two groups will receive active tDCS treatment after completion of the control phase.

This study represents a continuation of the pilot study GSUND DAHOAM (Ethics approval: 20-2091-101; Dragon et al., 2024).

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Course of the scores of the Hamilton Depression rating scale (21 Items) — 3 weeks
  Depression rating scale (0-65, the lower the better)
• Course of the scores of the Major Depression Inventory — 3 weeks
  Depression rating scale (0-50, the lower the better)
• Compliance — 3 weeks
  Number of treatments administered (0-30 sessions, the more the better)

Trial sites (1)

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