N/A N=30 Treatment

Intensive tDCS for MDD: Feasibility Study

Major Depressive Disorder

Bottom Line

View on ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05194267 ↗

Enrolled (actual)

Serious AEs

0.0%

Results posted

Jul 2025

Primary outcome: Primary: Change in Depressive Symptoms Measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) — 21; 31.5 percentage of change

Study Design & Population

Study type: Interventional
Phase: N/A
Interventions: transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) (Device)
Age: Adult, Older Adult · 18+ yrs
Sex: All
Sponsor: Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM)
Primary completion: Aug 2023

Outcome Measures

Outcome	Result	p-value
PRIMARY Change in Depressive Symptoms Measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)	21; 31.5	—

Summary

This will be a prospective, open-label, single-arm study to determine the safety and feasibility of an intensive treatment of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for major depressive disorder (MDD). Participants will be age 18-65 with a diagnosis of unipolar MDD. Participants will receive an intensive treatment of tDCS over a 10-day treatment period and complete follow-up assessments at the end of treatment, 1, and 4 weeks post-treatment.

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

Diagnosis of Major unipolar depression for at least 4 weeks meeting the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5)
Age between 18 to 65
Minimum score of 17 on the GRID-Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (GRID-HAMD)

Exclusion Criteria

Bipolar disorder,
Psychosis
Active substance use disorder (in the last 3 months)
Personality disorder
Neurocognitive disorder
High risk of suicide
Major comorbid medical or neurological condition
Pregnancy

Medical contraindications to tDCS:

Ferromagnetic material in the skull
Defect in the bone substance of the skull
Dermatological condition (e.g. eczema, psoriasis, urticaria, dermatitis, acne, hyperhidrosis, folliculitis, rosacea, keratosis, herpes, infectious or neoplastic phenomenon, etc.)
Skin lesion on the skull (ex: cuts, abrasions, rash, tattoos on the skull, piercings on the head, etc.)

View full record on ClinicalTrials.gov →

Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05194267). Outcome figures and adverse-event rates are extracted automatically from the registry's posted results and are provided for clinician reference, not as a substitute for the primary publication.