title: Positive effects of transcranial direct current stimulation in adult patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder - A pilot randomized controlled study.
abstract: Almost 30% of adult patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) do not respond or tolerate standard pharmacological interventions. Few clinical investigations addressed the efficacy and tolerability of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive neuromodulatory technique, in the disorder. We performed a double-blind, sham-controlled randomized clinical trial in 17 patients with ADHD. The set up for tDCS was the following: 2mA/20min/day for 5 days with the anode over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and cathode over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. ADHD symptoms were measured by the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) and impairment with the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) in four different time points after stimulation. Participants achieved significant lower ASRS inattention and SDS scores after active tDCS in comparison with sham stimulation group. In addition, we detected a trend for a lower ASRS total score in the active tDCS group. Follow up data analysis revealed a positive interaction between time and treatment in both ASRS inattention, SDS and ASRS total scores. Short-term application of tDCS in adult patients with ADHD improved their symptoms, and this improvement persisted after the end of the stimulation. Future studies with larger sample sizes are needed.
authors.affiliation: Post-Graduation Program of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Electronic address: carocachoeira@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Carolina Tosetto
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Cachoeira
authors.affiliation: Post-Graduation Program of Medical Sciences, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Douglas Teixeira
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Leffa
authors.affiliation: Post-Graduation Program of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Suzana Doneda
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Mittelstadt
authors.affiliation: Post-Graduation Program of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lorenna Sena Teixeira
authors.initials: LST
authors.lastname: Mendes
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Center for Applied Neuromodulation (CINA), University Hospital, University of So Paulo, So Paulo, Brazil; Service of Interdisciplinary Neuromodulation (SIN), Laboratory of Neurosciences (LIM-27), Department and Institute of Psychiatry, University of So Paulo, So Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Andre R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Brunoni
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jairo Vinicius
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Vtor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Blazius
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Vitoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.affiliation: Post-Graduation Program of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; Department of Genetics, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; ADHD Outpatient Program, Hospital de Clnicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors.forename: Claiton Henrique Dotto
authors.initials: CHD
authors.lastname: Bau
authors.affiliation: Post-Graduation Program of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; Department of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; ADHD Outpatient Program, Hospital de Clnicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luis Augusto
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Rohde
authors.affiliation: Post-Graduation Program of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; Department of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; ADHD Outpatient Program, Hospital de Clnicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors.forename: Eugenio Horacio
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Grevet
authors.affiliation: Post-Graduation Program of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; Post-Graduation Program of Medical Sciences, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; Service of Neurology, Hospital Moinhos de Vento, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schestatsky
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D057566:Self Report; D065908:Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: ADHD treatment; Adult ADHD; Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; Neurostimulation; Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)