Non-invasive brain stimulation treatment in a group of adolescents with anorexia

Introduction Anorexia nervosa (AN) is characterized eating behaviors and body image disturbances. Given poor treatment outcomes are available for AN, treatment innovations are urgently needed. Recently, non-invasive neuromodulation tools have suggested having potential for reducing AN symptomatology targeting brain alterations. Objectives The objective was to verify whether an excitatory transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the left prefrontal cortex may aid in altering/resetting inter-hemispheric balance in AN patients, re-establishing control over eating behaviors. Aims Research is aimed to evaluate the potential of tDCS treatment in determining a more rapid improvement compared to classical treatments in adolescents with AN. Methods Twenty-two adolescents with AN, underwent the treatment as usual (AU) plus the tDCS treatment (TDCS + AU: n  = 8, age M 13.7 ± 1.9 years) or a family therapy (FT + AU: n  = 14, age M 15.1 ± 1.75 years), for six weeks. Psychopathological scales (EDI-III, EAT 26, BUT, MASC, CDI) and anthropometric indicator of nutritional status (BMI) were assessed before and after treatment. Results BMI improved only in the TDCS + AU group ( P P Conclusions tDCS treatment improved BMI values more than classical treatment and determined comparable to the classical treatment improvement in the psychopathological scales. This results may be an important starting point to further explore the beneficial effect of brain based treatments for AN.