TITLE:
Alpha-Stim AID Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation (CES) for Anxiety Treatment: Outcomes in a Community Healthcare Service
AUTHORS:
Chris Griffiths, Leno Joseph, Doreen Caesar, Bharath Lakkappa, Chloe Leathlean, Ksenija da Silva
KEYWORDS:
Alpha-Stim, Community Care, Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation, Service Delivery, Anxiety, Depression, Quality of Life, Co-Morbidity
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Depression,
Vol.11 No.4,
November
21,
2022
ABSTRACT: Background: Symptoms of anxiety disorders are highly common and can have a severe
impact on people’s lives; they are typically treated with psychotherapy and/or
anti-anxiety medication. These treatments are not suitable for, acceptable to,
or effective for everyone. Alpha-Stim AID is a cranial electrotherapy
stimulation (CES) device with evidence of effectiveness in treating symptoms of
anxiety. In this study, Alpha-Stim AID was offered through a United Kingdom
(UK) universal community healthcare provider, Intermediate Care Team (ICT) community healthcare
service to patients who reported signs of anxiety. Objective: The aim of
this paper is to present feasibility findings and outcomes on anxiety, health
status, and quality of life. Methods: Open-label patient cohort design,
with no control group. Participants were adults who reported symptoms of
anxiety and were under the care of universal national health service (NHS)
Intermediate Care Team (ICT) community healthcare service in the United Kingdom
(UK). Pre- and post-intervention assessment used participant self-report measures: generalised
anxiety disorder (GAD-7) and health related quality of life (EQ-5D-5L). The
three ICT staff members who offered the Alpha-Stim AID to patients completed a
questionnaire on their experience. Results: Eighteen patients used the
Alpha-Stim and completed outcome measures. GAD-7 scores significantly improved
from 13.9 (SD = 4.3) to 7.3 (SD = 5.7) (p p = 0.036), with a small effect size of 0.12. EQ-VAS scores at baseline improved
from 49.2 (SD = 24.0) to 64.4 (SD = 26.2) at the end (p = 0.05), with a small effect size of 0.12. Limitations: There was no control group, and the intervention was adjunct to existing
treatments. Conclusions: Alpha-Stim AID CES can be offered through a UK
NHS Trust Intermediate Care Team (ICT) community healthcare service and can
have a significant positive impact on symptoms of anxiety, quality of life, and
health status in patients who report experience of anxiety symptoms. Roll-out
through community mental health providers to people with experience of anxiety
symptoms is feasible. An appropriately designed and sufficiently powered
randomised controlled trial of Alpha-stim for anxiety is required.