Home-administered transcranial direct current stimulation is a feasible intervention for depression: an observational cohort study

• Published in: Frontiers in psychiatry Vol. 14; p. 1199773
• Main Authors: Charvet, Leigh, George, Allan, Charlson, Erik, Lustberg, Matthew, Vogel-Eyny, Amy, Eilam-Stock, Tehila, Cho, Hyein, Best, Pamela, Fernandez, Luis, Datta, Abhishek, Bikson, Marom, Nazim, Kamran, Pilloni, Giuseppina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 22.08.2023
• Subjects: depression; digital health; home-based tDCS; non-invasive brain stimulation; Psychiatry; telehealth; transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS); digital health; major depressive disorder; telehealth; depression; home-based tDCS; transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS); non-invasive brain stimulation
• ISSN: 1664-0640; 1664-0640
• DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1199773

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is an emerging treatment for major depression. We recruited participants with moderate-to-severe major depressive episodes for an observational clinical trial using Soterix Medical's tDCS telehealth platform as a standard of care. The acute intervention consisted of 28 sessions (5 sessions/week, 6 weeks) of the left anodal dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) tDCS (2.0 mA × 30 min) followed by a tapering phase of weekly sessions for 4 weeks (weeks 7-10). The = 16 completing participants had a significant reduction in depressive symptoms by week 2 of treatment [Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), : 28.00 ± 4.35 vs. 17.12 ± 5.32, < 0.001] with continual improvement across each biweekly timepoint. Acute intervention responder and remission rates were 75 and 63% and 88 and 81% following the taper period (week 10).