Transcranial direct current stimulation for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: patient selection and perspectives

摘要

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive neuromodulation technique that has been increasingly examined as an alternative treatment modality for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), due to its low costs, ease of use, and portability. Previous studies have suggested that tDCS may achieve a reasonably good response and present a safe tolerability profile. However, at this point there is not strong evidence for the use of this modality of treatment. Considering that OCD is very heterogeneous with regard to clinical presentation, clinical severity and comorbidities, we have conducted a systematic review of studies on tDCS for OCD aiming to evaluate the clinical characteristics of the selected patients and to discuss perspectives for future studies.