Conclusion
depression, anhedonia
SECONDARY
We report a prospective double-blind randomized controlled trial investigating DBS in treatment-resistant AUD patients. While the primary intention-to-treat analysis did not produce a statistically significant result, the findings are nonetheless suggestive of a beneficial effect of DBS. This conjecture is supported by significant effects of DBS on important secondary outcomes, including the proportion of abstinent days, heavy drinking days, alcohol craving and anhedonia during the blinded study phase. We were able to provide evidence for the specificity of the observed effects using a double-blind lead-in phase. Additionally, we conducted an exploratory responder analysis, which indicated that patients suffering from high craving, depression and anhedonia might stand to benefit particularly from DBS.