Background: Given the limited therapeutic options for Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), we conducted an open-label clinical trial to evaluate the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for hyperphagia, food craving, and aberrant behaviors on this population.
Methods: Twelve subjects with PWS (11-35 years old) were included. The subjects underwent 10 daily 20-minute sessions of tDCS in 2 weeks. The anode was positioned over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and the cathode over the contralateral region.
Results: We observed amelioration of hyperphagic and food craving symptoms (P < 0.05), as well as amelioration of behavioral symptoms measured with the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (P < 0.05).
Discussion: To our knowledge, this is the first proof-of-concept trial to report the positive effects of increasing excitability of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, using tDCS, for the behavioral, hyperphagia, and food craving symptoms in PWS, which is a low-cost, well-studied, safe alternative for brain stimulation.
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