Background
: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a novel non-pharmacological intervention being investigated for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD).
Objective
: To perform an updated review of tDCS for MDD.
Method
: Systematic review in Medline/PubMed and other databases of all clinical studies evaluating the clinical efficacy of tDCS in MDD, from the first date available to December/2013.
Results
: Out of 55 articles, 24 were included, being 6 open-label studies; 8 randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trials; 2 follow-up studies; 2 meta-analyses and 6 case reports. We observed an improvement of 20-40% in depressive symptoms, being slightly better in open studies. Five randomized clinical trials displayed positive results. The meta-analyses presented mixed results; although none included the study of Brunoni et al. (2013) that represents almost 50% of the evaluated sample. Open-label studies and case reports also investigated tDCS in bipolar depression, post-stroke depression and employed different parameters of stimulation.
Discussion
: TDCS is a novel, promising treatment for MDD. Definite evidence from large, ongoing clinical trials will be available in the next years.
Transcranial direct current stimulation; major depressive disorder; systematic review; non invasive neuromodulation; interventional psychiatry; neurotherapeutics