Efeito da estimulação transcraniana por corrente contínua em pacientes com transtorno do estresse pós-traumático

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is triggered after exposure to a traumatic event (experienced or witnessed) and its main symptomatology is composed of groups of avoidant, intrusive and hyperexcitability symptoms. It is estimated that 60.7% of men and 51.2% of women will experience at least one traumatic event during life and 8% of men and 20% of women will develop the disease. PTSD is associated with personal and economic costs, poor quality of life and about 1/3 of individuals will develop chronic symptoms despite adequate treatment. In January 2013, a fire of great proportions in a nightclub in Santa Maria-RS, known as KISS Nightclub, killed 242 young people and left hundreds with physical and psychological sequels. The great impact of this event caused an increase in the prevalence of several psychiatric disorders, among them PTSD. Given this, and the lack of effectiveness of standard treatment, other treatment strategies are necessary. Noninvasive neuromodulation techniques, such as Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), have been shown to be promising in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders. tDCS consists of the passage of small intensity electric current through the brain through electrodes, in order to modulate cortical excitability. It is an open experimental study with 8 patients whose primary objective was to evaluate the tDCS effect on PTSD symptoms, with exploratory analyzes to evaluate the effects on cognition and depressive and anxious symptoms. After treatment, there was improvement in PTSD symptoms, depression and anxiety, and these effects were maintained throughout the first month after treatment. The positive effects on cognition started slowly and progressively and were significant when assessed after 30 days of treatment.