Loading...
Brain-stimulation treatments for depression have traditionally been considered as possible options for patients failing to respond to antidepressants. Researchers in Brazil conducted a 10-week randomized, controlled trial comparing transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS; a largely unregulated device available to consumers) plus pill placebo, escitalopram plus sham tDCS, or double placebo in 245 depressed patients.
Escitalopram was provided at 10 mg for 3 weeks and then 20 mg afterwards; tDCS in 30-minute sessions was given 5 times weekly for 3 weeks and once weekly thereafter. The study used a noninferiority design aimed to determine whether tDCS was “as good as” escitalopram. Although both active treatments were superior to placebo, …