Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and its therapeutic potential in patients with Chronic Kidney Disease in Hemodialysis

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an important public health problem. While waiting for a transplant, people present several symptoms, such as pain and mood disorders. To assess the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in patients affected by CKD over pain, anxiety, and depression. This clinical trial included patients with CKD, who presented chronic pain and underwent hemodialysis for more than three months. There were three assessments: at baseline, after interventions, and seven days after the last intervention (follow-up). Ten non-consecutive sessions of tDCS were performed during 20 min per session with an intensity of 2mA. It was found a significant interaction between group and time on pain (p=0.0005) with significant difference between groups at day 10 (p=0.004) and follow-up (p=0.03) for pain. Also, there was a significant difference between groups p<0.02, partial ?2=0.258 for anxiety. There was a tendency of decrease for depression (p = 0.05). After ten sessions of tDCS over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of patients affected by CKD improved pain, anxiety, and depression