EEG Prediction and Clinical Efficacy of tDCS in Major Depression (DM-TDCS-PREDIC)

June 3, 2026 updated by: Ionclinics & Deionic SL

Clinical Efficacy of tDCS in Major Depression: A Controlled Clinical Trial and Analysis of Electrophysiological Biomarker Predictors

The purpose of this randomized controlled trial is to investigate the non-inferiority, and possible superiority, of a high-dose home-based tDCS protocol compared with a conventional home-based protocol, and to assess its cost-effectiveness, in patients with major depression.

As a secondary aim, we aim to assess the predictive value of baseline EEG for clinical response to high-dose home-based tDCS treatment in patients with major depression.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

270

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 Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Spain
      • Valencia, Spain
        • Hospital Universiatrio Doctor Peset
        • Contact:

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients aged 18 years or over.
  • Patients diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder with a current depressive episode, based on the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
  • Score on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS-17) ≥16 (Hamilton et al., 1960).
  • Patients on a stable prescription of antidepressants/pharmacological medication and who agree to continue this throughout the study; and/or, if undergoing psychotherapy, who have maintained this treatment consistently for at least 6 weeks.
  • Demonstrate the ability to apply home-based tDCS appropriately, either independently or with the help of a carer.
  • Have access to an electronic device with a camera to enable monitoring of the intervention, as well as to contact the participant.
  • Have the ability and willingness to commit to the study team to complete all phases of the study.
  • Volunteer to participate and sign the specific informed consent form for this study.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with a current manic episode as determined by the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), or a psychotic episode as defined by the MINI scale.
  • Patients who answer 'yes' to questions 4, 5 or 6 of the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), a risk assessment and identification tool.
  • Patients with treatment-resistant depression, defined as an inadequate clinical response to two or more courses of antidepressant treatment at appropriate doses and duration.
  • Any previous hospitalisation for suicidal behaviour.
  • Presenting with current chronic or severe insomnia (< 4 hours' sleep per night) or sleep apnoea.
  • Presence of any structural lesion (e.g., any structural neurological condition or more subcortical lesions than would be expected for their age, or having suffered a stroke affecting the stimulated area or connected areas) or any other clinically significant abnormality that may affect safety, participation in the study, or confound the interpretation of study results, as determined by the investigator.
  • History or presence of any other condition or comorbidity associated with TDM: cardiac or neurological conditions, cognitive impairment.
  • History of or current diagnosis of any other mental disorder: obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder (type 1 or 2), anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, eating disorders, personality disorders.
  • Any exclusion criteria other than those established by clinical guidelines on non-invasive brain stimulation (Woods et al., 2016):
  • Metal implants or head injuries, any electronic devices such as cochlear implants or cardiac pacemakers
  • Brain stimulation within the last 6 months.
  • Clinical or family history of epilepsy or seizure episodes.
  • Presence of dermatological problems (allergic skin reaction at the electrode site, psoriasis, etc.)
  • History of drug or alcohol abuse during the study or in the 3 months prior (with the exception of nicotine).
  • Pending trial or litigation during the course of the trial.
  • Pregnancy.

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: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: High-dose home-tDCS
Device: High-dose home-tDCS
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique in which a weak direct current (2 mA) is applied to the scalp via electrodes. The anode will be applied to F3 (left dorsolateral prefrontal region) and the cathode to F8 (right supraorbital region). The application of tDCS will be carried out at home in this group. Each session will consist of 20 minutes of stimulation. Dose: 3 weeks, daily. (1) 1st week - 3 times per day; (2) 2nd Week - 2 times per day; (3) 3rd week - 1 time per day (total of 42 sessions).
Active Comparator: Conventional home-tDCS
Device: Conventional home-tDCS
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique in which a weak direct current (2 mA) is applied to the scalp via electrodes. The anode will be applied to F3 (left dorsolateral prefrontal region) and the cathode to F4 (left dorsolateral prefrontal region), described by Woodham et al., 2024. The application of tDCS will be carried out at home in this group. Each session will consist of 30 minutes of stimulation. Dose: (1) Week 1 to 3: 1ss/day for 5 days; (2) Week 4 to 10: 1ss/day for 3 days (total 36 sessions).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
HDRS-17
Time Frame: Baseline and end of treatment (week 3 for experimental; week 10 for active comparator).
Changes from baseline to the end of the treatment in the 17-items Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS-17).
Baseline and end of treatment (week 3 for experimental; week 10 for active comparator).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
MDRS
Time Frame: Baseline; end of treatment (3 week experimental; 10 week active comparator).
Changes from baseline to the end of treatment in the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MDRS).
Baseline; end of treatment (3 week experimental; 10 week active comparator).
C-SSRS
Time Frame: Baseline; end of treatment (3 week experimental; 10 week active comparator)
Changes from baseline to the end of treatment in the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS).
Baseline; end of treatment (3 week experimental; 10 week active comparator)
HAM-A
Time Frame: Baseline; end of treatment (3 week experimental; 10 week active comparator)
Changes from baseline to the end of treatment in the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A).
Baseline; end of treatment (3 week experimental; 10 week active comparator)
YMRS
Time Frame: Baseline; end of treatment (3 week experimental; 10 week active comparator)
Changes from baseline to the end of treatment in the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS).
Baseline; end of treatment (3 week experimental; 10 week active comparator)
RAVLT
Time Frame: Baseline; end of treatment (3 week experimental; 10 week active comparator)
Changes from baseline to the end of treatment in the Rey-Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT).
Baseline; end of treatment (3 week experimental; 10 week active comparator)
SDMT
Time Frame: Baseline; end of treatment (3 week experimental; 10 week active comparator).
Changes from baseline to the end of treatment in the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT).
Baseline; end of treatment (3 week experimental; 10 week active comparator).
Bristol stool scale
Time Frame: Baseline; end of treatment (3 week experimental; 10 week active comparator).
Changes from baseline to the end of treatment in the Bristol Stool Scale.
Baseline; end of treatment (3 week experimental; 10 week active comparator).
Mediterranean Diet Questionnaire
Time Frame: Baseline
Diet habits of the patients assessed with the Mediterranean diet questionnaire.
Baseline
Meal frequency
Time Frame: Baseline
Meal frequency intake of patients prior to the starting of the project.
Baseline
EQ-5D
Time Frame: Baseline; end of treatment (3 week experimental; 10 week active comparator).
Changes from baseline to the end of treatment in the EuroQoL-5D questionnaire (EQ-5D).
Baseline; end of treatment (3 week experimental; 10 week active comparator).
PGI-C
Time Frame: End of treatment (3 week experimental; 10 week active comparator)
Changes of impression at the end of treatment assess with the Patient Global Impression of Change (PGI-C).
End of treatment (3 week experimental; 10 week active comparator)
Resting state EEG
Time Frame: Baseline
32-channel active-electrode EEG (impedances <5 kΩ) recordings in open and close eye conditions.
Baseline
Stool samples
Time Frame: Baseline and end of treatment (week 3 for experimental; week 10 for active comparator).
Changes in stool sample biomarkers from baseline to end of treatment.
Baseline and end of treatment (week 3 for experimental; week 10 for active comparator).

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Patient Expectations
Time Frame: Baseline
Likert scale from 1 to 5 (where 1 is no expectation and 5 is the highest possible expectation) to study the influence of expectation on the effect of treatment.
Baseline
Incremental Cost Effectiveness Ratio
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 2 years.
Incremental Cost Effectiveness Ratio (ICER) will be derived from clinical effectiveness, utility and costs.
Through study completion, an average of 2 years.
Costs
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 2 years.
Direct and indirect medical and non-medical costs will be collected for the cost-effectiveness analysis.
Through study completion, an average of 2 years.
Utility
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 2 years.
Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) will be calculated using the EQ-5D questionnaire for the cost-effectiveness analysis.
Through study completion, an average of 2 years.
MINI
Time Frame: Baseline
Score of items "Psychotic Disorder" in the MINI International. Neuropsychiatric Interview for selection criteria.
Baseline
Responders to tDCS
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 2 years.
A subject is considered a responder if: - Improvement of 50% or more in HDRS-17 or MADRS from baseline to immediate post-treatment.
Through study completion, an average of 2 years.
Adverse Effect
Time Frame: End-of-day application (Experimental: 7 days per week through 3 weeks; Active Comparator: From week 1 to 3, 5 days per week; From week 4 to 10, 3 days per week).
A daily questionnaire about adverse effects will be completed at the end of the last intervention of the day.
End-of-day application (Experimental: 7 days per week through 3 weeks; Active Comparator: From week 1 to 3, 5 days per week; From week 4 to 10, 3 days per week).
Successful blinding
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 2 years
A method 3 x 3 will be used to evaluate the success of the study's evaluator and statistician.
Through study completion, an average of 2 years

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Ionclinics & Deionic SL

Collaborators

Hospital Universitario Doctor Peset
Universidad Europea de Valencia

Investigators

  • Study Director: Ane Miren Gutiérrez Muto, PhD, Ionclinics & Deionics S.L.
  • Study Chair: Mar Hernández Secorún, PhD, Neuroscience in Physiotherapy independent research group; Ionclinics & Deionics S.L.
  • Study Chair: Gustavo Sarriá Córdoba, MSc, Neuroscience in Physiotherapy independent research group; Ionclinics & Deionics S.L.

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 (Estimated)

June 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 30, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 7, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 20, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 28, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 5, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 3, 2026

Last Verified

June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • ION001_EEG_TDCS_TDM

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

In accordance with the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, the de-identified individual participant data (IPD) that underlie the results reported in this study will be shared. The data will become accessible one year after the publication of the primary results and will remain available for five years. Access will be provided to researchers who inquire and agree to a data-use agreement through Ionclinics (investigacion@ionclinics.com/ensayos@ionclinics.com). The data will be de-identified and shared in accordance with applicable regulations and the informed consent provided by the participants.

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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