Expert Witness Journal Dec 24 - Journal - Page 4
At Home Brain Stimulation
for Depression Found to be
Safe and Effective
A device that delivers direct stimulation to the brain is a safe and effective means of treating depression at home.
New research from the Institute of Psychiatry,
Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College
London, in partnership with the University of East
London, and The University of Texas Health Science
Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston), and funded
by Flow Neuroscience, has found that a device that
delivers direct stimulation to the brain is a safe and
effective means of treating depression at home.
In 2022/23, 86 million antidepressants were prescribed
to an estimated 8.6 million people in England.
Rachel Woodham, the study’s first author and a
Research Assistant at University of East London said,
“There is no such thing as the perfect medical intervention. Medication can have unintended side effects,
while therapy is both time and resource intensive. Our
hope is that tDCS can provide a viable treatment for
people with moderate to severe depression to help
them better manage their symptoms.
The research, published in Nature Medicine, suggests
that devices like the one used could become a first line
at home treatment for major depressive disorder.
“The headset is designed in such a way that allows the
user to keep doing their day to day tasks, remaining
unencumbered while undergoing treatment.”
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a
form of self-administered, non-invasive brain stimulation that applies a weak, direct current of between
0.5 to 2 milliampere to the scalp via two electrodes. It
is not electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which delivers about 800 milliamperes to the brain causing a generalised seizure and can only be conducted under
strict supervision.
Flow Neuroscience Chief Clinical Officer and
co-founder Daniel Månsson said: “Our core mission
was, and still is, to create a treatment that is effective,
safe and accessible to as many people as possible.”
174 participants aged 18 and over, and with a
diagnosis of at least moderate depression were randomly assigned to one of two treatment arms; “active”
tDCS or “inactive” tDCS which was the same device
but did not provide a current. Participants had a 10week course of treatment, initially having five 30minute sessions a week for the first three weeks,
followed by three 30-minute sessions a week for the
following seven weeks.
Dr Michael L P Gross
Consultant Neurologist
Researchers found that participants in the active arm
of the trial showed significant improvements in the
severity of their depression, as well as the overall clinical response and remission compared to those in the
‘inactive’ placebo control arm. The rates of treatment
response and remission were three times higher in the
active treatment arm compared to the placebo arm,
where 44.9% in the active arm demonstrated a remission rate compared to 21.8% of the control group.
MA, MB, Bchir, MD, FRCP, MEWI
Previous Chairman Neurosciences, Royal Surrey County Hospital.
Full time private practise from Nov 2001. Short-listed UK hospital
doctor of the year, 1998 and 1999.
Clinical neurologist, with busy private and medico-legal practise.
Also owner and clinical director of The Body Factory Rehabilitation
Centre in North London. Interest - headache disorders, epilepsy,
multiple sclerosis. Experience in wide range of medico-legal matters
including all aspects of head injury, brain injury, neck injury, trauma,
pain, chronic fatigue, medical negligence, rehabilitation. Average 250
instructions/yr. 20 new clinical referrals each week so have excellent
“The burden of depression is mostly keenly felt by the 280
million people worldwide currently managing symptoms.
While a combination of antidepressants and therapy generally
proves to be effective for many people, medication can have
side-effects that some can find disruptive. Our study has
demonstrated that tDCS is a potential first line option that
could help those in need.”
Professor Cynthia Fu,
the study’s senior author and a Professor of Affective
Neuroscience and Psychotherapy at King’s IoPPN
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DECEMBER 2024
