Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation May Be Effective in Tardive Dyskinesia

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Transcranial direct current stimulation shows potential as an effective, safe treatment for improving the facial-oral motor symptoms of tardive dyskinesia.

Transcranial direct current stimulation shows potential as an effective, safe treatment for improving the facial-oral motor symptoms of tardive dyskinesia (TD) among chronically hospitalized patients with schizophrenia, according to findings published in Clinical Neurophysiology.

“In addition to drug therapy, some physical therapy methods have also been used in exploratory treatment studies for TD,” researchers wrote. “Of the non-invasive brain stimulation techniques designed to modulate neural excitability, transcranial direct current stimulation represents an attractive option given its low cost, safety, feasibility, and simple applicability.”

Study investigators randomly assigned 64 inpatients who met the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia and TD to either active (n=35) or sham (n=29) treatment. Patients received treatment 15 times, each lasting 30 minutes at an intensity of 2 mA.

Improvements Seen Across Multiple Subscales

Researchers reported a study completion rate of 81.25% (n=52). At baseline, the gender, age, educational level, and marital status of the groups were matched; disease course was not. The duration of illness in the active stimulation group was higher than in the sham group.

Compared with the sham group, patients in the active treatment group experienced a significant decrease in the total Abnormal Involuntary Movements Scale score and the facial-oral subscore (P<0.05). An improvement of at least 30% in total Abnormal Involuntary Movements Scale score was seen in the active treatment group (14 patients; 50%) compared with the sham group (2 patients; 8.3%) after treatment (P<0.01). While researchers reported no between-group differences in the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms total scores, there was a significant difference between the two groups in developing the reported adverse effect of tingling sensation (P<0.05).

“Our study found that [transcranial direct current stimulation] may be an effective and safe treatment for improving the facial-oral motor symptoms of TD in long-term hospitalized patients with chronic schizophrenia,” researchers wrote. “The treatment effect was most pronounced after 15 sessions of [transcranial direct current stimulation], achieving a higher level of effectiveness compared to 10 sessions. The results of our study are expected to provide a novel perspective for the treatment of patients with chronic schizophrenia complicated by TD in clinical settings.”