Helena R. Camasmie, Departamento de Inmunología, Hospital Universitario Clementino Fraga Filho, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
Adriane S. Manhães, Departamento de Estimulación Eléctrica, Hospital Universitario Pedro Ernestol, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
Alessandra Sayao, Departamento de Estimulación Eléctrica, Hospital Universitario Pedro Ernestol, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
Omar Lupi, Departamento de Inmunología, Hospital Universitario Clementino Fraga Filho, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
Egas Caparelli-Dáquer, Departamento de Estimulación Eléctrica, Hospital Universitario Pedro Ernestol, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
Background/Objective: Chronic itch is a multidimensional phenomenon, which contains similar cognitive and emotional aspects to chronic pain. Our objective was to explore the effect of a 6-day treatment with anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the motor cortex on chronic pruritus in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD). Materials and methods: Fourteen patients with moderate/severe AD and chronic pruritus were recruited. All patients underwent 2 consecutive weeks of treatment with tDCS 3 times a week, blindly divided into 2 groups. Group A was treated with a constant current of 1.0 mA, while Group B was treated with a 2.0 mA current, both for 20 min. After an 8-week wash-out period, patients were asked to return to a second treatment cycle where the current intensity was switched between the groups. Results: Our study demonstrated a tendency of improvement in Scoring AD levels after each treatment cycle, sustained for 30 days, regardless of the current intensity applied. Both treatments demonstrated a tendency of reduction on itch severity with significant improvement in the patient’s quality of life after 1 mA tDCS. Conclusions: We were able to achieve significant improvement in patient’s quality of life, indicating that tDCS may be a promising therapeutic tool in chronic itch.
Keywords: Pruritus. Atopic dermatitis. Electric stimulation.