Case series reveals accelerated transcranial direct current stimulation improves symptoms in patients with treatment-resistant bodily distress disorder, suggesting a novel intervention.
Bodily distress disorder (BDD) is a challenging condition often unresponsive to pharmacotherapy. This case series explores accelerated transcranial direct current stimulation (atDCS) as an adjunctive treatment in five patients with treatment-resistant BDD. Patients received 2–5 daily sessions over approximately 10 days, targeting the left motor cortex or dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Four patients showed significant pain reduction (Visual Analogue Scale [VAS] scores reduced from 9.0 ± 1.4 to 3.8 ± 2.2) and overall symptom improvement, with minimal adverse effects. These findings suggest that atDCS is a safe, feasible and potentially effective intervention for BDD.
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Joseph et al. (2026) studied this question.
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