Could treating depression at home be just as effective as the hospital?
NCT ID NCT07490379
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Sep 01, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study compares doing brain stimulation (tDCS) at home versus in the hospital for people with moderate to severe depression. The goal is to see if home treatment works just as well, making care more accessible. Sixty-six adults will receive 20 sessions over two weeks, with nursing support to ensure safety and compliance.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
-
About 66 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
-
Jul 2026
- Expected to finish
-
Mar 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
-
18 years and older
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Men or women over the age of 18 * Psychiatric diagnosis: * Presenting a depressive episode characterised according to DSM-5 criteria * MADRS score greater than or equal to 20, indicating moderate to severe depression * Indication and prescription of a course of tDCS treatment consisting of 20 sessions of 30 minutes at 2mA, at a rate of 2 sessions per day * Drug treatment: o Failure of a maximum of 1 or 2 antidepressants taken successively or in combination for the current episode * Psychiatric follow-up: Receiving medical follow-up by a psychiatrist or referring physician * Ability to understand and cooperate: * Having a smartphone, computer or tablet (with internet connection and Bluetooth) to use the digital interface required to perform remote tDCS * Be deemed capable of understanding the nature of the study and participating in clinical follow-up * Informed consent: Have given written consent to participate in the research, after receiving oral and written information about the study. * Social affiliation: Be affiliated with a social security system Exclusion Criteria: * Psychiatric or neurological diagnoses: * Chronic psychotic disorders or history of schizophrenia * Progressive neurological disorders (unstabilised epilepsy, brain tumour, recent stroke, severe head injury) * History or current treatment of neuromodulation * Any history of tDCS treatment, whether carried out in a clinical or research setting * Current treatment or history of rTMS and ECT sessions for the current episode * Presence of an active vagus nerve stimulation implant * Presence of a high risk of suicide. A risk of suicide will be considered high if the score on item 10 of the MADRS scale ("Suicidal Thoughts") is 4 or higher, and/or if there is active suicidal ideation accompanied by clinically identified intent or a plan * Addiction and substance use: Current substance use disorder other than nicotine or caffeine * Psychiatric comorbidities that may interfere with study participation, including: understanding information, adherence to the protocol, and completing CBT sessions. * Recent change in curative psychotropic treatment (antidepressant, mood stabiliser including lithium and anticonvulsants, mood-stabilising antipsychotic) in the month prior to inclusion. * Medical contraindication to stimulation: * Presence of a metallic or electronic implant in the skull or chest (pacemaker, neurostimulator, cochlear implant) * Skin lesion, irritation or wound on the electrode contact areas * History of epileptic seizures not related to an identified cause or not stabilised for more than 12 months * Current pregnancy or breastfeeding * Women of childbearing age without effective contraception (hormonal or medical device) * A severe and/or progressive somatic condition requiring ongoing medical care that would interfere with participation in the study. * Limited ability to participate: * A significant cognitive impairment or sensory deficit that prevents understanding of instructions * Inability to safely perform tDCS at home, as defined by at least one of the following: * inability to understand or recall essential instructions regarding procedure and safety; * inability to perform, following initial guidance, the essential steps for setting up and starting the device; * lack of the minimum material conditions required at home to conduct the sessions. * Special legal or social situation: * Patients under guardianship, curatorship or judicial protection * Privation of liberty by judicial or administrative decision, Presence of a functional limitation to the independent performance of tDCS
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Depression are added.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
-
The places running it
6 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
-
The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
-
A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
CH Georges Mazurelle
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGLa Roche-sur-Yon, France
-
CH Le Rouvray
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGSotteville-lès-Rouen, France
-
CH Léon-Jean Grégory - Thuir
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGThuir, France
-
CHU de Nantes
RECRUITINGNantes, France
-
CHU de Nîmes
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGNîmes, France
-
Clinique Mirambeau
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGAnglet, France
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Reading the Brain's signals to predict who benefits from deep brain stimulation
- Can a phone app that blocks distracting apps ease depression?
- Can teachers and a phone app ease teen depression?
- Can imagining exercise boost brain power after spinal cord injury?
- Can a group program teach teens to cope before therapy starts?
- Can intense brain zaps lift depression? scientists track blood flow in real time