Effect of a 10-day transcutaneous trigeminal nerve stimulation (TNS) protocol for depression amelioration: A randomized, double blind, and sham-controlled phase II clinical trial.

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the leading causes of disability in the world. However, treatment options are still limited, and marked by high refractoriness rates, new approaches are needed to optimize clinical improvement. Trigeminal nerve stimulation (TNS) is an innovative neuromodulation strategy consisting on the application of an electric current over the trigeminal nerve that propagates stimuli towards brain areas involved in mood control.