Major Depressive Disorder — Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Therapy for Major Depression
Citation(s)
Mutz J, Edgcumbe DR, Brunoni AR, Fu CHY Efficacy and acceptability of non-invasive brain stimulation for the treatment of adult unipolar and bipolar depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised sham-controlled trials. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2018 Sep;92:291-303. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.05.015. Epub 2018 May 12.
Mutz J, Vipulananthan V, Carter B, Hurlemann R, Fu CHY, Young AH Comparative efficacy and acceptability of non-surgical brain stimulation for the acute treatment of major depressive episodes in adults: systematic review and network meta-analysis. BMJ. 2019 Mar 27;364:l1079. doi: 10.1136/bmj.l1079.
Woodham R, Rimmer RM, Mutz J, Fu CHY Is tDCS a potential first line treatment for major depression? Int Rev Psychiatry. 2021 May;33(3):250-265. doi: 10.1080/09540261.2021.1879030. Epub 2021 Mar 11. Review.
Acceptability and Feasibility of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Therapy as a Community-based Treatment for Major Depression
Interventional studies are often prospective and are specifically tailored to evaluate direct impacts of treatment or preventive measures on disease.
Observational studies are often retrospective and are used to assess potential causation in exposure-outcome relationships and therefore influence preventive methods.
Expanded access is a means by which manufacturers make investigational new drugs available, under certain circumstances, to treat a patient(s) with a serious disease or condition who cannot participate in a controlled clinical trial.
Clinical trials are conducted in a series of steps, called phases - each phase is designed to answer a separate research question.
Phase 1: Researchers test a new drug or treatment in a small group of people for the first time to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range, and identify side effects.
Phase 2: The drug or treatment is given to a larger group of people to see if it is effective and to further evaluate its safety.
Phase 3: The drug or treatment is given to large groups of people to confirm its effectiveness, monitor side effects, compare it to commonly used treatments, and collect information that will allow the drug or treatment to be used safely.
Phase 4: Studies are done after the drug or treatment has been marketed to gather information on the drug's effect in various populations and any side effects associated with long-term use.
