São Paulo medical journal = Revista paulista de medicina
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Case Reports Randomized Controlled Trial
Transcranial direct current stimulation for treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder: report on two cases and proposal for a randomized, sham-controlled trial.
Neuromodulation techniques for treating obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have expanded through greater understanding of the brain circuits involved in this disorder. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive technique, has been studied as an alternative for treatment-resistant OCD. We describe the design of a clinical trial using tDCS for OCD and report on the outcomes from two patients with primary OCD who were resistant to cognitive-behavioral therapy and to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and who received tDCS in an open manner during the training phase for the study procedures. ⋯ tDCS for treatment-resistant OCD merits randomized controlled trials that test its effectiveness.