A recent study published in the October issue of Clinical Neurophysiology highlights the potential of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as a safe and effective treatment for facial-oral motor symptoms associated with tardive dyskinesia (TD) in patients with chronic schizophrenia.

The research, conducted by Xiaoli Lyu and colleagues at the Teaching Hospital of Yangzhou University, China, involved 64 long-term hospitalized patients diagnosed with chronic schizophrenia and TD. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either active tDCS (35 patients) or a sham treatment (29 patients) across 15 30-minute sessions.

Results demonstrated significant improvements in the active treatment group, with reductions in the total Abnormal Involuntary Movements Scale (AIMS) scores, particularly in facial-oral motor symptoms. Notably, 50% of patients in the active group achieved a ≥30% improvement in their AIMS total score compared to just 8.3% in the sham group.

Interestingly, while the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) showed no significant differences between the groups, the active group reported a higher occurrence of mild adverse effects, such as tingling sensations, which were not observed in the sham group.

"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 concluded.

Tardive dyskinesia, characterized by involuntary and often debilitating movements, is a common side effect of long-term antipsychotic treatment in schizophrenia patients. This study positions tDCS as a promising non-invasive therapeutic option for addressing this challenging condition, paving the way for further research and clinical applications.