Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for the Treatment of Bipolar Depression (TDCS-BD)

November 20, 2016 updated by: Andre Brunoni, University of Sao Paulo
Non-invasive brain stimulation therapies have been increasingly investigated in recent years as a treatment for neuropsychiatric disorders, particularly mood disorders. They are particularly appealing since many patients are either refractory or present side effects to standard pharmacological regimens. TDCS (transcranial direct current stimulation). a novel non- pharmacological brain stimulation technique, might help in overcoming some of these issues, since it has low cost, high portability and it is relatively easy to use. TDCS consists in applying a weak, direct current through two electrodes placed over the scalp; the anode and the cathode increasing and decreasing cortical excitability during and beyond the period of stimulation. It is also a safe technique with only mild adverse effects described. Previous studies, some of them from our group, have described that tDCS is an effective technique for major depression. However, the role of tDCS as a treatment for bipolar depression (BD) has been insufficiently investigated. Therefore, our aim is to address the antidepressant effects of tDCS in BD in a randomized, sham- controlled trial in a refractory sample.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

BD represents the greatest burden on patients with bipolar disorder, since the depressive episodes are the most frequent and also particularly associated with suicide 7. BD treatment is controversial, with some stricter guidelines recommending only lithium, lamotrigine and quetiapine as a first-treatment, whereas others allow the use of antidepressants (which can increase manic switch and should be used in association with mood stabilizers) and other anticonvulsants and antipsychotics 8. For refractory BD the available level I evidence is very scarce, with only seven studies exploring this issue hitherto 9. Therefore, the importance of this study proposal is justified considering the burden of the disease, the paucity of current therapeutic studies and the promising results presented for tDCS in unipolar disorder.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

60

Phase

  • Phase 2
  • Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Brazil
      • São Paulo, Brazil, 05508000
        • University Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • bipolar depressed (type I, II or not otherwise specified) participants with symptoms in spite of an adequate treatment course with mood stabilizers.
  • the depressive episode has to be of at least moderate intensity (baseline HDRS>=16)
  • read and understand Portuguese

Exclusion Criteria:

  • other neuropsychiatric conditions, such as schizophrenia, substance dependence, dementias, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy and so forth (although participants with anxiety disorders can be included whether the primary diagnosis is BDD);
  • mixed states, defined as simultaneously presenting (hypo)manic symptoms with a Young Manic Rating Scale (YMRS) > 8;
  • pregnancy;
  • specific contra-indications to tDCS;
  • severe/life-threatening clinical conditions. Participants will have to be drug-free or at stable drug regimen for at least 6 weeks prior to trial onset. Benzodiazepine drugs will be allowed, although only at low doses (less than 20mg/day of diazepam or equivalent).

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Active stimulation
Active stimulation (tDCS) will be used in the dose of 2mA /30 min per day, for 10 days and two extra sessions every other week (total of 12 sessions).
Device: Active stimulation
For active tDCS, we will place the anode and the cathode over the left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex areas, respectively (corresponding to F3 and F4 according to the EEG 10-20 system). We will use 5x5 cm electrodes and a 2mA current for 30 minutes per day. This montage is known as "bifrontal" setup and has been previously used in major depression trials
Placebo Comparator: Sham stimulation
For Sham Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation, the device is automatically turned off after 30 seconds of stimulation and remains turned off.
Device: Sham stimulation
For sham tDCS, the device will be turned off after 30 seconds of stimulation.
Other Names:
  • TDCS

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Hamilton Scale for Depression, 17 items
Time Frame: week 0 (baseline), week 2, week 4 and week 6 (endpoint)
Continuous measure (score change)
week 0 (baseline), week 2, week 4 and week 6 (endpoint)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale
Time Frame: week 0 (baseline), week 2, week 4 and week 6 (endpoint)
Continuous measure (score changes)
week 0 (baseline), week 2, week 4 and week 6 (endpoint)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Sao Paulo

Collaborators

Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

April 1, 2014

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2016

Study Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 29, 2014

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 30, 2014

First Posted (Estimate)

June 2, 2014

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

November 22, 2016

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 20, 2016

Last Verified

November 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • BETTER

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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