Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Therapy for Bipolar Depression

July 28, 2025 updated by: Cynthia Fu, University of East London

Community-based Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Treatment for Bipolar Depression

Bipolar disorder is a severe and disabling disorder. The course of illness is often progressive but is highly heterogeneous between individuals and within the lifetime for an individual. The most common treatments are medications. However, for many individuals, combinations of medications are often required, and full recovery is infrequent.

The novel brain stimulation treatment, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), is a potential first-line treatment for bipolar depression. The present research question is whether tDCS can be provided as a home-based treatment for bipolar depression for adults with bipolar disorder.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The novel brain stimulation treatment, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), is a potential first-line treatment for bipolar disorder. tDCS generates a small electric current which modulates how easy it is for active brain cells to discharge. The device is a headband worn over the forehead with two electrodes, which are small metal discs, where the current comes from. tDCS does not directly stimulate brain cells to cause a seizure like electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and it does not induce brain cells to discharge like transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

Clinical studies have shown that tDCS treatment could help to improve the symptoms of depression. The main side effects have been redness, skin irritation or sensations (itching, tingling or burning) under the electrodes. Less commonly reported side effects include headache or tiredness. tDCS is a portable and safe treatment.

The studies to date have mostly looked at tDCS treatment which has been provided in a research setting. This is a problem because the treatment requires daily sessions for several weeks which could limit whether individuals would be able to go every day. As tDCS is a portable and safe treatment, it could be provided in the community.

The present study is a proof-of-concept trial to assess the efficacy, acceptability and safety of tDCS treatment for bipolar depression within a community-based setting.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

44

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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

  • United Kingdom
      • London, United Kingdom, E16 2RD
        • University of East London

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

14 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • diagnosis of bipolar disorder based on DSM-5 criteria
  • minimum score of 18 on the MADRS
  • being on a stable dosage of mood stabilizing medication for a minimum of two weeks

Exclusion Criteria:

  • comorbid psychiatric disorder
  • significant risk of suicide or self harm
  • any contraindications to tDCS, including implanted electronic medical devices
  • history of epilepsy

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: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Device: transcranial direct current stimulation
6-week course of active tDCS treatment, consisting of 5 sessions per week for the first 3 weeks followed by 2 sessions per week for 3 weeks, for a total of 21 tDCS sessions. The duration of each session is 30 minutes.
Device: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
tDCS at 2mA in 30 minute sessions for 5 sessions per week for 3 weeks and then 2 sessions per week for 3 weeks.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of Participants With Clinical Response [ Time Frame: At 6 Weeks Following Course of tDCS Treatment ]
Time Frame: 6 weeks
As measured by clinician-rated Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) score improvement of 50% or more from baseline following the course of tDCS treatment.
6 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Participant Retention at the End of the Treatment
Time Frame: 6 weeks (visit 21)
The number of participants who have completed a minimum of 15 tDCS sessions
6 weeks (visit 21)
Participant Acceptability Questionnaire Scales
Time Frame: Week 6 (Visit 21)
Participants were asked how acceptable they found the tDCS treatment after the 6-week course of treatment. They were given responses on a 7-point Likert style scale. The number of participants who rated the tDCS treatment as acceptable on the Treatment Acceptability Questionnaire (Likert responses 5, 6 or 7) are reported.
Week 6 (Visit 21)

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
MADRS Remission Rate
Time Frame: 6 weeks (Visit 21)
Trained rater measure of depressive symptoms: Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) remission rate: a score of less than 10 following the course of tDCS
6 weeks (Visit 21)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of East London

Collaborators

King's College London
University College, London
Technische Universität Dresden

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Cynthia Fu, MD, PhD, University of East London

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

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 (Actual)

May 1, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 30, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

May 30, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 23, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 23, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

June 29, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 14, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 28, 2025

Last Verified

July 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 308690

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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