Treatment of Refractory Auditory Verbal Hallucinations With tDCS in Schizophrenia

Seoul National University Hospital10 enrolled

Overview

The purpose of this study is to exploratively evaluate the efficacy and safety of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in patients with schizophrenia who experience persistent auditory verbal hallucinations after adequate antipsychotics therapy for over three months.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Schizophrenia

Interventions

tDCSDEVICE

2mA direct current, 20 minutes per session, 2 sessions per day with at least 3hours interval between sessions, a total of 10 tDCS sessions

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 19 YearsMax age: 50 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients with schizophrenia by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) * Presence of auditory hallucination after three months' trial of antipsychotics of adequate dose * The Hamilton Program for Schizophrenia Voices Questionnaire (HPSVQ) score is at least 8 Exclusion Criteria: * Significant brain pathology including head trauma, seizure, meningitis * Intellectual disability (IQ \< 70) * Severe personality disorder * Substance use disorder (except nicotine) * Severe medical illness * Disability in the sensory organs * Pregnancy

Locations (1)

Seoul National University Hospital

Seoul, South Korea

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Auditory hallucination change by changes in The Psychotic Symptom Rating Scales (PSYRATs) Auditory hallucinations subscale score

Auditory hallucination change by changes in the auditory hallucinations subscale from the Psychotic Symptom Rating Scales