The Sertraline vs. Electrical Current Therapy for Treating Depression Clinical Study: Results From a Factorial, Randomized, Controlled Trial

Brunoni et al 2013. Published in JAMA Psychiatry.

  • A randomised, controlled, double-blind trial.
  • Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) vs Sertraline (an SSRI antidepressant) for Depression.
  • 120 participants with moderate to severe, unipolar depression. The participants were randomly assigned to four groups: Combined (tDCS + sertraline), tDCS (tDCS + oral placebo), Sertraline (sham tDCS + sertraline), and Placebo (sham tDCS + oral placebo).
  • The results of the Combined group (tDCS + sertraline) were superior to that of the tDCS, Sertraline, and Placebo groups.
  • The results of the tDCS only and Sertraline only groups were comparable, although tDCS only was found to be superior to Placebo, while Sertraline only was not.

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