WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A new clinical trial showed that brain stimulation therapy could be performed at home to treat moderate to severe depression.
'The study results bring promise that an innovative treatment modality may become available for patients suffering from mood disorders some time in the near future,' said co-lead researcher Dr. Jaire Soares, chair of psychiatry with the University of Texas McGovern Medical School.
For the study, 174 people with major depressive disorder were randomly assigned to receive or forego brain stimulation during a 10-week course of treatment. The participants assigned for stimulation received a headset, produced by Flow Neuroscience, which delivered transcranial direct current stimulation.
The brain stimulation group got five 30-minute sessions a week for the initial three weeks, followed by three 30-minute sessions a week during the next seven weeks.
Researchers found that about 45 percent of people receiving the stimulation wound up with their depression in remission, compared with 22 percent of the control group.
'This is a potential first line treatment for depression,' said Cynthia Fu, a professor of affective neuroscience and psychotherapy at King's College London and senior author on the study.
'It can also be used for people whose depression hasn't improved with antidepressant medication, for people who don't like antidepressant medication, or who don't want psychotherapy.'
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