Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation May Effectively Treat Negative Schizophrenia Symptoms

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) appears to be an effective and safe add-on treatment for ameliorating negative symptoms in schizophrenia, such as loss of interest in everyday activities and emotional withdrawal, according to astudy published yesterday inJAMA Psychiatry. This noninvasive therapy delivers weak, direct currents into the brain via electrodes placed on the scalp.“There is an unmet clinical need for the treatment of negative symptoms in schizophrenia,” wrote Leandro da Costa Lane Valiengo, M.D., Ph.D., of the Instituto Nacional de Biomarcadores em Neuropsiquiatria Faculdade de Medicina in São Paulo, Brazil, and colleagues. “[G]iven its acceptability, tolerability, and short treatment protocol, tDCS could be evaluated as an add-on intervention for patients with schizophrenia with negative symptoms in outpatient settings.”The double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial took place from September 2014 to March 2018 in two S ão Paulo outpatient clinics. The 100 participants aged 18 to 55 were all diagnosed with schizophrenia using the Portuguese version of DSM-IV, had Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) negative symptom scores of 20 or more, and had stable positive and negative symptoms for four weeks or more. Participants received tDCS in twice-daily, 20-minute sessions over five consecutive days. A sham group went through the same procedure without receiving tDCS. A total of 95 patients completed the trial.The participants ’ ...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: DSM JAMA Psychiatry Leandro da Costa Lane Valiengo negative symptoms PANSS schizophrenia tDCS Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Source Type: research