Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) in the Management of Suicidal Ideation (tDCS-IDSDEP)

Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) in the Management of Suicidal Ideation in Treatment-resistant Depression : a Pilot Study

The main objective of this study is to demonstrate that 15 transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) sessions of 30 minutes at 2 mA intensity are effective to reduce suicidal ideation

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Depression and Suicide
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Transcranial direct current stimulation

Detailed Description

After being informed about the study and potential risks, all patients giving written informed consent will undergo a screening visit to determine eligibility for study entry. Patient who meet the eligibility requirements be able to start the 15 tDCS sessions at the rate of one session per day. After the last session, patients will perform three follow-up visits on D19, D49 and D79

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 50
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Ghina Harika-Germaneau; Phone Number: 05.16.52.61.18; Email: ghina.harika-germaneau@ch-poitiers.fr

Study Locations

• France
  • Faye-l'abbesse, France
    • Recruiting
    • Centre Hospitalier Nord-Deux-Sèvres
    • Contact: Issa Wassouf; Email: wassouf.issa@chnds.fr
  • Poitiers, France
    • Recruiting
    • Centre Hospitalier Henri Laborit
    • Contact: Ghina Harika-Germaneau; Email: ghina.harika-germaneau@ch-poitiers.fr

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age over 18 years
• Written informed consent
• Diagnosis of recurrent or isolated depressive episode according to DSM IV criteria (A.P.A. 1994).
• Stable antidepressant treatment for 3 weeks
• MADRS score ≥ 20
• SSI score > 3
• Subject affiliated to a health insurance system
• Woman with effective contraception and agreeing to maintain it throughout the study period.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Depression with psychotic features Axis I (DSM IV) co-morbid diagnosis of schizophrenia, alcohol and/or other substance dependence (or abuse) (lifetime)
• Patient who has already undergone an electroconvulsive therapy course for the current episode and does not respond to this treatment
• Patient deprived of liberty
• Patient with high suicide risk (item 10 MADRS > 4) in the absence of hospitalization
• Contraindication to tDCS: intracerebral metallic implant (with the exception of dental implants), cardiac pacemaker, active or non-implanted devices in the region of the head, acute eczema in the planned stimulation area
• Pregnant, parturient or breastfeeding woman
• Simultaneous participation in another interventional research

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Active tDCS; Participants received an active tdcs: transcranial direct current with an intensity of 2 mA for 30 minutes	Device: Transcranial direct current stimulation; 1 stimulation per day during 15 days.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change from Baseline in suicidal ideation on the Scale for Suicide Ideation (SSI) at "Day 19"	The main judgment criterion is the evolution of suicidal ideation which is evaluated by the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (SSI) between Baseline and "Day 19"	Baseline and "Day 19"

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change from Baseline in quality-of-life assessed by the SF36 (Short Form (36) Health Survey) at "Day 19" post-tDCS sessions	The Medical Outcomes Study Questionnaire Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) is an indicator of overall health status. The SF-36 is validated and has eight scaled scores; the scores are weighted sums of the questions in each section. Scores range from 0 - 100, so that the lowest and highest possible scores are 0 and 100, respectively. Lower scores = more disability, higher scores = less disability. Sections : vitality, physical functioning, bodily pain, general health, perceptions, physical role functioning, emotional role functioning, social role functioning, mental health.	Baseline and "Day 19"
Change from Baseline in quality-of-life assessed by the SF36 (Short Form (36) Health Survey) at "Day 49" post-tDCS sessions	The Medical Outcomes Study Questionnaire Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) is an indicator of overall health status. The SF-36 is validated and has eight scaled scores; the scores are weighted sums of the questions in each section. Scores range from 0 - 100, so that the lowest and highest possible scores are 0 and 100, respectively. Lower scores = more disability, higher scores = less disability. Sections : vitality, physical functioning, bodily pain, general health, perceptions, physical role functioning, emotional role functioning, social role functioning, mental health.	Baseline and "Day 49"
Change from Baseline in quality-of-life assessed by the SF36 (Short Form (36) Health Survey) at "Day 79" post-tDCS sessions	The Medical Outcomes Study Questionnaire Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) is an indicator of overall health status. The SF-36 is validated and has eight scaled scores; the scores are weighted sums of the questions in each section. Scores range from 0 - 100, so that the lowest and highest possible scores are 0 and 100, respectively. Lower scores = more disability, higher scores = less disability. Sections : vitality, physical functioning, bodily pain, general health, perceptions, physical role functioning, emotional role functioning, social role functioning, mental health.	Baseline and "Day 79"
Change from Baseline of clinical response defined by the MADRS (Montgomery and Asberg depression scale) at "Day 19" post-tDCS sessions	The Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) was developed to provide an assay of depressive symptom severity for use in the investigation of treatment response to antidepressant medication. The MADRS takes 20-60 minutes to be completed by interview. MADRS-S has 9 items , and each item is scored between 0 (minimum) and 6 (maximum). The scores for all 9 items were added, and cutoff scores for the MADRS-S were defined for level of depression (depression: 0-12 = minimal, 13-19 = mild, 20-34 = moderate, ≥ 35 = severe).	Baseline and "Day 19"
Change from Baseline of clinical response defined by the MADRS (Montgomery and Asberg depression scale) at "Day 49" post-tDCS sessions	The Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) was developed to provide an assay of depressive symptom severity for use in the investigation of treatment response to antidepressant medication. The MADRS takes 20-60 minutes to be completed by interview. MADRS-S has 9 items , and each item is scored between 0 (minimum) and 6 (maximum). The scores for all 9 items were added, and cutoff scores for the MADRS-S were defined for level of depression (depression: 0-12 = minimal, 13-19 = mild, 20-34 = moderate, ≥ 35 = severe).	Baseline and "Day 49"
Change from Baseline of clinical response defined by the MADRS (Montgomery and Asberg depression scale) at "Day 79" post-tDCS sessions	The Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) was developed to provide an assay of depressive symptom severity for use in the investigation of treatment response to antidepressant medication. The MADRS takes 20-60 minutes to be completed by interview. MADRS-S has 9 items , and each item is scored between 0 (minimum) and 6 (maximum). The scores for all 9 items were added, and cutoff scores for the MADRS-S were defined for level of depression (depression: 0-12 = minimal, 13-19 = mild, 20-34 = moderate, ≥ 35 = severe).	Baseline and "Day 79"
Change from Baseline in suicidal ideation assessed by the implicit association test at "Day 19" post-tDCS sessions	The Implicit Association Test (IAT) is a computer-based test measuring implicit mental associations between two concepts. The IAT uses reaction times to categorize stimuli that appear in the middle of the screen into two target categories, in our study: "Death" (suicide, dies, funeral, lifeless, deceased) and "Life". (survive, grow, breathe, alive, live) and/or in two attribute categories "Me" (me, myself, my, mine, I) and "Not Me" (them, they, their, his, others) . and subjects rapidly classify them by pressing one of two keys (the category of right (by pressing the I key) or left (by pressing the E key). According to the logic of the IAT, "D positive" scores represent a strong implicit association between "Me" and "Death". We will use Greenwald's improved algorithm to analyze responses.	Baseline and "Day 19"
Change from Baseline in suicidal ideation assessed by the implicit association test at "Day 49" post-tDCS sessions	The Implicit Association Test (IAT) is a computer-based test measuring implicit mental associations between two concepts. The IAT uses reaction times to categorize stimuli that appear in the middle of the screen into two target categories, in our study: "Death" (suicide, dies, funeral, lifeless, deceased) and "Life". (survive, grow, breathe, alive, live) and/or in two attribute categories "Me" (me, myself, my, mine, I) and "Not Me" (them, they, their, his, others) . and subjects rapidly classify them by pressing one of two keys (the category of right (by pressing the I key) or left (by pressing the E key). According to the logic of the IAT, "D positive" scores represent a strong implicit association between "Me" and "Death". We will use Greenwald's improved algorithm to analyze responses.	Baseline and "Day 49"
Change from Baseline in suicidal ideation assessed by the implicit association test at "Day 79" post-tDCS sessions	The Implicit Association Test (IAT) is a computer-based test measuring implicit mental associations between two concepts. The IAT uses reaction times to categorize stimuli that appear in the middle of the screen into two target categories, in our study: "Death" (suicide, dies, funeral, lifeless, deceased) and "Life". (survive, grow, breathe, alive, live) and/or in two attribute categories "Me" (me, myself, my, mine, I) and "Not Me" (them, they, their, his, others) . and subjects rapidly classify them by pressing one of two keys (the category of right (by pressing the I key) or left (by pressing the E key). According to the logic of the IAT, "D positive" scores represent a strong implicit association between "Me" and "Death". We will use Greenwald's improved algorithm to analyze responses.	Baseline and "Day 79"

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Centre Hospitalier Henri Laborit

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 26, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 1, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 18, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): August 24, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): June 5, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 3, 2025
• Last Verified: June 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: tDCS
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Self-Injurious Behavior; Suicide; Suicidal Ideation; Depression
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2022-A01454-39

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No