Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35185515›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in aging neuroscience2021

Safety and Feasibility of Tele-Supervised Home-Based Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Major Depressive Disorder.

Davide Cappon, Tim den Boer, Caleb Jordan, Wanting Yu, Alexander Lo, Nicole LaGanke, Maria Chiara Biagi, Pawel Skorupinski, Giulio Ruffini, Oscar Morales and 3 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in aging neuroscience, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
33citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
4.4field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

33 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 55 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Home-based transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for bipolar depression: effects on quality of life and functioning-an open-label study.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026
    Trial
  5. Trial
  6. Trial
  7. Trial
  8. Trial
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Davide CapponHinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA, United States.
Tim den BoerHinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA, United States.
Caleb JordanHinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA, United States.
Wanting YuHinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA, United States.
Alexander LoHinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA, United States.
Nicole LaGankeHinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA, United States.
Maria Chiara BiagiNeuroelectrics, Barcelona, Spain.
Pawel SkorupinskiNeuroelectrics, Barcelona, Spain.
Giulio RuffiniNeuroelectrics, Barcelona, Spain.
Oscar MoralesDepartment of Psychiatry Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
Eran MetzgerHinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA, United States.
Bradley ManorHinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA, United States.
Alvaro Pascual-LeoneHinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA, United States.
Hebrew SeniorLife · USHarvard University · USInstitut Guttmann · ES

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a worldwide cause of disability in older age, especially during the covid pandemic. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive neuromodulation technique that has shown encouraging efficacy for treatment of depression. Here, we investigate the feasibility of an innovative protocol where tDCS is administered within the homes of older adults with MDD (patient participants) with the help of a study companion (i.e. caregiver). We further analyze the feasibility of a remotely-hosted training program that provides the knowledge and skills to administer tDCS at home, without requiring them to visit the lab. We also employed a newly developed multi-channel tDCS system with real-time monitoring designed to guarantee the safety and efficacy of home-based tDCS. Patient participants underwent a total of 37 home-based tDCS sessions distributed over 12 weeks. The protocol consisted of three phases each lasting four weeks: an acute phase, containing 28 home-based tDCS sessions, a taper phase containing nine home-based tDCS sessions, and a follow up phase, with no stimulation sessions. We found that the home-based, remotely-supervised, study companion administered, multi-channel tDCS protocol for older adults with MDD was feasible and safe. Further, the study introduces a novel training program for remote instruction of study companions in the administration of tDCS. Future research is required to determine the translatability of these findings to a larger sample.

Indexed as

COVID-19depressionhome-based interventionnon-invasive brain stimulationtranscranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)

Identifiers

PMID35185515
PMCPMC8849231
OpenAlexW4210317748

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.