NCT05945199

Effectiveness of tDCS on Reducing Craving in Patients Practicing Chemsex: a Single-center, Double-blind, Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 40 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Dijon · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The aim of this research is to evaluate the efficacy of a new treatment for chemsex or "chemical sex", the use of psychoactive substances to modify sexual experience and performance. This treatment, called Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) aims to modulate the cortical activity of brain areas involved in the desire to use psychoactive substances, or drugs, and the desire for uncontrolled sexual intercourse. This treatment should therefore lead to a reduction in the craving for consumption of psychoactive substances and/or the practice of uncontrolled sexual activity. The stakes of this new treatment are high, because chemsex exposes people to health risks for themselves and others. These risks include the risk of infection (skin infections, HIV infection, hepatitis viruses), psychological harms (anxiety attacks, depression, suicide risk), risk of addiction (addiction to the psychoactive product used, sex addiction), and toxicological harm (overdose, dangerous combination of psychoactive substances) or trauma (blows, trauma to the genitals or anorectal trauma). To date, there is no proven therapeutic treatment for people wishing to reduce or stop chemsex. 40 participants will be randomized into 2 groups: * 20 patients will receive active stimulation * 20 patients will receive sham stimulation The total duration of the study for each patient will be 13 weeks: 1 week of stimulation and 12 weeks of follow-up.

Conditions

• Chemsex

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	tDCS	* 1 session/day for 5 consecutive days * stimulation at an intensity of 2 mA for the active tDCS group and sham stimulation (using the device's sham mode) for the placebo group
BEHAVIORAL	Assessment of risk behaviours	Assessment of risk behaviours (retrospective exploration by the categorical rating of frequency: At least once a day - Several times a week several times a week - once a week - several times a month - once a month - less than once a month - never). times a month - Once a month - Less than once a month - Never)
OTHER	Scales	EVA craving index for chemsex Maximum VAS craving in the week preceding assessment for chemsex, sexual practices and use of psychoactive substances, HAqII, CSBD-19, modified CCQ-brief, SDI, BDI-II

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-07-29
• Primary completion: 2026-08-01
• Completion: 2026-08-01
• First posted: 2023-07-14
• Last updated: 2024-07-30

Locations

1 site across 1 country: France