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Completed

NCT Number: NCT04086446

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) in the Treatment of Drug-naïve Obsessive-compulsive Disorder(OCD)

This study will evaluate the possible therapeutic effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) in drug-naïve obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients, and the underlying neural mechanism by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI),transcranial magnetic stimulation and electroencephalography (TMS-EEG).

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Key information

Conditions

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Anxiety Disorders Mental Disorders

Age range

18 year–50 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Shanghai Mental Health Center

Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, 200030, China

About this study

The purpose of this study is to examine the efficacy of tDCS over orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in treatment of drug-naïve OCD patients. 60 drug-naïve OCD patients will be randomized into two groups (i.e. active or sham stimulation). tDCS stimulation will be performed once a day, five times a week, for two weeks. The investigators will assess symptom severity before and after two weeks of tDCS. Through the study, Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale（Y-BOCS）, the Obsessive Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI)and side-effect questionnaire will be obtained by a trained investigator. The patients will also receive MRI scan and TMS-EEG.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • age: 18-50 years old;
  • DSM-5 criteria for OCD;
  • Y-BOCS total score > or = 16, discontinued medication for at least 8 weeks before tDCS stimulation.
  • >or＝9 years education

Exclusion criteria

  • Any axis I psychiatric disorder comorbidity
  • The inability to receive tDCS because of metallic implants, or history of seizures，or 3.history of head injury, or history of neurosurgery.
  • Participants with claustrophobic, heart pacemaker, mechanical heart valve, mechanical implant such as an aneurysm clip, hip replacement, or any other pieces of metal that have accidentally entered their body.
  • Any current significant medical condition.
  • serious suicide risk

Treatment and study plan

high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation

Device

The tDCS device will deliver a direct current of 1.5mA during 20 minutes. Cathode electrode will be localized in front of the right OFC on the Fp2 point according to the EEG international reference. Four anode electrodes will be placed around FP2 (i.e. Fpz, AFz, AF4, AF8)

Sham tDCS

Device

The same procedure will be applied except that the tDCS device will only deliver a current stimulation for the first and last 15 seconds.

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale(Y-BOCS) score

    Time frame: Up to 3 months

    It assesses the severity of OCD symptoms. The Y-BOCS scale ranges from 0 to 40, with 0 being no symptoms and 40 being severe.The responder on Y-BOCS is defined as a Y-BOCS decrease at least 35% from the baseline at post-treatment.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in Obsessive Compulsive Inventory-Revised(OCI-R)

    Time frame: Up to 3 months

    It is an inventory of OCD symptoms with 18 items that are rated on a 5-point Likert scale. Total scores range from 0 to 72, with higher scores indicating more severe OCD symptoms.

  2. Change in Beck Depression Inventory(BDI)

    Time frame: Up to 3 months

    It consists of 21 items and uses a 0 to 3 severity scale. Total scores range from 0 to 63, with higher scores indicating more severe depression symptoms.

  3. Change in Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)

    Time frame: Up to 3 months

    It is an inventory of anxiety symptoms with 18 items that are rated on a 5-point Likert scale(0 to 4). Total scores range from 0 to 72, with higher scores indicating more severe anxiety symptoms.

  4. Change in Perceived Stress Scale(PSS)

    Time frame: Up to 3 months

    It is a 10-item, 5-point Likert scale(0 to 4) to measure the degree to which situations in one's life are appraised as stressful.The total score ranges from 0 to 40, with lower total scores representing a better outcome.

  5. Change in Pittsburgh sleep quality index(PSQI)

    Time frame: Up to 3 months

    The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) contains 19 self-rated questions which measures seven aspects of sleep: (1) subjective sleep quality, (2) sleep latency, (3) sleep duration, (4) habitual sleep efficiency, (5) sleep disturbances, (6) use of sleeping medication, and (7) daytime dysfunction. The 19 self-rated items are combined to form seven component scores, each of which has a range of 0-3 points (0 indicates no difficulty, while 3 indicates severe difficulty). The seven component scores are then summed to yield one global score, with a range of 0-21 points (0 indicating no difficulty, and 21 indicating severe difficulties in all the seven areas of sleep quality).

  6. Change in Side-effect questionnaire

    Time frame: Up to 3 months

    It consists of 10-item and uses 0 to 3 severity scale to rate the intensity of side effects. Total scores range from 0 to 30, with higher scores indicating more severe side-effect. It also assesses the relation between side-effect and the effects of tDCS using 0 to 4 scale. Total scores range from 0 to 40, with higher score indicating the greater relation.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Shanghai Mental Health Center

Other

Registry information

Official study title

A Randomized Clinical Trial of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation(tDCS) Treatment for Drug-naïve Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder(OCD)

Important dates

Study start
2019
Primary completion
2024
Study completion
2024
First posted
Sep 11, 2019
Registry last updated
May 15, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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