CASE REPORT   

Minerva Psychiatry 2021 March;62(1):51-3

DOI: 10.23736/S2724-6612.20.02114-7

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Successful application of add-on high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) for geriatric treatment resistant depression

Damodharan DINAKARAN ✉, Rujuta PARLIKAR, Harleen CHHABRA, Ganesan VENKATASUBRAMANIAN

Psychophysics Laboratory, WISER Program, Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, India

Geriatric depression typically co-occurs with medical morbidities, intolerance to antidepressants and frequently treatment resistance. High definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) is a safe, well tolerated, refined neuromodulatory technique with improved spatial precision - as compared to its conventional counterpart - that might lead to better modulation of the underlying cortex. In this case report, we describe the successful application of add-on HD-tDCS in an elderly patient with treatment resistant depression. As an add-on to antidepressant treatment, HD-tDCS resulted in significant clinical improvement. Thus, HD-tDCS promises to uncover advance treatment options in elderly patients with resistant depression.

KEY WORDS: Transcranial direct current stimulation; Depression; Treatment refusal