by Lori Solomon

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may be an effective and safe treatment for improving the facial-oral motor symptoms of tardive dyskinesia (TD) in chronically hospitalized patients with schizophrenia, according to a study published online in the October issue of Clinical Neurophysiology.

Xiaoli Lyu, from the Teaching Hospital of Yangzhou University in China, and colleagues evaluated the efficacy and safety of tDCS in long-term hospitalized patients with chronic schizophrenia and TD. The analysis included 64 patients randomly assigned to active (35 participants) or sham (29 participants) treatment (15 30-minute sessions).

The researchers found that patients in the active group showed a significant reduction in both the total Abnormal Involuntary Movements Scale (AIMS) score and the facial-oral subscore. In the active group, a significant AIMS total score improvement of ≥30 percent was achieved in half of patients versus 8.3 percent in the sham group.

The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms scores did not significantly differ between the treatment groups. The occurrence of the reported adverse effect of a tingling sensation differed significantly between the groups.

"The results of our study are expected to provide a novel perspective for the treatment of patients with chronic schizophrenia complicated by TD in clinical settings," the authors write.

More information: Xiaoli Lyu et al, Transcranial direct current stimulation improves tardive dyskinesia in long-term hospitalized patients with chronic schizophrenia, Clinical Neurophysiology (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2024.07.006

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