Effectiveness of tDCS on Reducing Craving in Patients Practicing Chemsex: a Single-center, Double-blind, Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial

Inclusion criteria

• Patient who provides written consent
• Patient aged ≥ 18 years
• Patient motivated and willing to change chemsex behavior, assessed by examiner during screening and inclusion visits
• Patient using at least one of the following psychoactive substances to modify sexual performance and/or experience:

• Cathinones, or methamphetamine, or MDMA, or cocaine, or ketamine, or GBL/GHB
• ≥ 1 time per month over the past 6 months and/or ≥ 10 times over the past year

Exclusion criteria

• Patient with a substance use disorder not involved in the practice of chemsex
• Patient with a recent change (< 1 month) in the prescription of a psychotropic treatment
• Patient presenting an acute psychiatric condition requiring hospitalization and/or immediate modification of a psychotropic treatment
• Patients with unstable or uncontrolled neuropsychiatric disease
• Patients with a history of epileptic seizures
• Patients with unexplained episodes of loss of consciousness, as this condition may be linked to cerebral alterations or epilepsy
• Patients with advanced or decompensated somatic pathology, requiring hospitalization expected during study follow-up
• Patients suffering from any serious life-threatening illness, such as congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or active neoplasia
• Patients with implanted cerebral medical devices, implanted pacemakers, or any electrically, magnetically or mechanically activated implant.
• Patients with cardiac, neural or drug implants
• Patients with vascular clips or other electrically sensitive support systems in the brain
• Patients with severe brain lesions
• Patients with skin lesions at stimulation sites
• Patients with skin problems such as dermatitis, psoriasis or eczema
• Patients with severe or frequent headaches
• Patients who have already benefited from tDCS sessions
• Pregnant, parturient or breast-feeding women (pregnancy test)
• Staff working in the addictology department of Dijon University Hospital
• Patient participating in another clinical trial
• Patient not affiliated to national health insurance
• Patient unable to complete assessment scales
• Patient under psychiatric care without consent or under legal protection (guardianship, curatorship)
• Major incapable or unable to provide consent