A recent study from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London has found that home-based transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a safe and effective treatment for depression. The research, published in Nature Medicine, suggests that tDCS could become a first-line treatment for major depressive disorder, especially for those struggling with side effects from medications or the time-intensive nature of therapy.
The study involved 174 participants diagnosed with moderate depression, who were randomly assigned to receive either active or inactive tDCS treatment over 10 weeks. Those in the active group showed significant improvements in depression severity, with remission rates three times higher than the placebo group.
tDCS is a non-invasive technique that applies a weak electric current to the scalp, and the device used in the study allows users to go about their daily tasks while undergoing treatment.
For further details, read the full study in Nature Medicine: Home-based transcranial direct current stimulation treatment for major depressive disorder. >
