NCT07217223Recruiting
Spaced Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Treatment-Resistant Depression: A Home-Based Feasibility and Safety Study
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 15 Sept 2026
Brief summary (registry, in English)
The investigators propose a single-arm, open-label study to evaluate the effectiveness, safety, tolerability and feasibility of at-home transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as a treatment for depression, particularly in cases where patients have not responded well to traditional therapies. Treatment will be delivered over a 2-week period with daily weekday treatments i.e., five tDCS sessions, each lasting 20 minutes, spaced by approximately 20-minute inter-session intervals, for a total of three hours a day. Participants will self-administer treatment at home under direct remote supervision. Pre- and post- treatment neurophysiological biomarkers sessions will also be carried out. The study aims to examine changes in mood, brain activity, and related clinical outcomes before, during, and after treatment, with the goal to provide more information that can be used for future studies. PLEASE NOTE: THERE WILL BE 4 APPOINTMENTS THAT MUST OCCUR IN PERSON IN SAN DIEGO, CA.
- Status (registry)
- Recruiting
- Study type
- Interventional
- Enrollment
- 10 (estimated)
- First submitted
- 30 Sept 2025
- Start date
- Sept 2025
- Primary completion date
- Oct 2026
- Lead sponsor
- University of California, San Diego
- Diseases
- Depression
- NCT number
- NCT07217223
What you commit to
- Study type: Interventional
- Planned participants: 10
- From Sept 2025 to the primary completion date, Oct 2026
- 1 site in 1 country
- Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them
Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.
Who cannot take part
Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.
Prior treatment
- Contraindication to receiving tDCS (e.g., ferromagnetic implant, history of seizure, known brain lesion);
Other illness
- History of psychotic or bipolar disorder or depression with psychotic features;
- Significant borderline personality disorder;
- Current moderate or severe substance use disorder or demonstrating signs of acute substance withdrawal;
- Clinically significant suicidality disorder;
- History of significant neurologic disease, including dementia, Parkinson's or Huntington's disease, brain tumor, seizure disorder, subdural hematoma, multiple sclerosis, or history of significant head trauma with persistent symptoms;
- Unstable medical illness;
- History of TMS (greater than 15 sessions) without a clinically meaningful response.; History of ketamine (greater than 4 sessions) without a clinically meaningful response;
- dermatological conditions contraindicating tDCS;
Age
- Pregnancy or lactation, lack of adequate birth control in women of childbearing age;
Other
- Significant comorbid obsessive-compulsive or post-traumatic stress:
- Chronic depression (defined as of over 5 years duration);
- Require a benzodiazepine with a dose \> lorazepam 2 mg/day;
- Non-correctable sensory impairments;
- Inability to consent or participate as an outpatient
Who the study is looking for
- People between the ages of 18 and 85 at the time of screening.
- Currently diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) as measured by the MINI and a MADRS score of ≥ 20.
- Safe for TMS as measures by the TMS Adult Safety Screening (TASS).
- Medical records confirming a history of failing to achieve clinical response to an adequate antidepressant trial as defined an Antidepressant Treatment History Form (ATHF) score ≥ 3 or ) or shown intolerance to at least two inadequate trials (score 1 or 2), without psychiatric illness due to a general medical condition.
- Stable internet connection and a device compatible with Microsoft Teams.
Age in the registry: 18 years to 85 years · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers
Sites (1)
Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.
| Site | City | Country | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|
| UCSD Interventional Psychiatry Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | San Diego | United States | Recruiting |
This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.