Effectiveness and Safety of Thread Embedding Acupuncture for Drug Resistant Epilepsy

NCT ID: NCT04673071

Last Updated: 2021-08-26

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

UNKNOWN

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

60 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2020-11-17

Study Completion Date

2022-11-30

Brief Summary

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Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases all over the world. Currently, about 70 million people have epilepsy worldwide. In particular, more than 30% of epilepsy patients still have seizures even though they are treated with appropriate anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs). This number has remained unchanged even after more than 20 years with many new anti-epileptic drugs being introduced. According to International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), drug-resistant epilepsy is defined when a patient does not achieve seizure-free the seizure with two optimal antiepileptic drugs. This clinical trial is designed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of thread-embedding acupuncture (TEA) as palliative treatment of drug resistant epilepsy.

Detailed Description

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The objectives of this clinical trial are twofold: the effectiveness of TEA is assessed by comparing the changes in the seizure control and quality of life at 5 months between 2 groups: the TEA + baseline AEDs group and the sham-TEA (STEA) + baseline AEDs group. Adverse events (AEs) that occur during the study will be investigated to evaluate the safety of TEA.

This study is investigated by the following hypotheses:

* TEA can increase the probability of becoming seizure free.
* TEA can reduce the frequency and duration of seizures.
* TEA can improve quality of life.
* TEA is associated with adverse effects.

This clinical trial will be performed as a 2-arm parallel design, randomized, controlled, assessor-blinded, clinical trial.

Conditions

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Epilepsy, Drug Resistant Acupuncture Therapy

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

2-arm parallel design, randomized, controlled, assessor-blinded, clinical trial
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Participants Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

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Thread Embedding Acupuncture (TEA)

TEA once a month for 4 months + AEDs

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Thread Embedding Acupuncture (TEA)

Intervention Type OTHER

TEA in 1 month for 4 months The six TEA points used in this study are GV20, BL15, BL18, ST40, GV14 and GB34.

Acupuncture point Procedure Baihui (GV20) oblique insertion toward nose, 3cm Both Xin Shu (BL15) perpendicular insertion, 3cm Both Gan Shu (BL18) perpendicular insertion, 3cm Both Fenglong (ST40) perpendicular insertion, 3cm Dazhui (GV14) perpendicular insertion, 3cm Both Yanglingquan (GB34) perpendicular insertion, 3cm

Sham-TEA (STEA)

STEA once a month for 4 months + AEDs

Group Type SHAM_COMPARATOR

Sham-TEA (STEA)

Intervention Type OTHER

STEA in 1 month for 4 months All procedure of Sham-TEA group, including acupoints and size of TEA will be same as that of TEA group. However, thread-removed TEA will be used for STEA group instead of normal TEA, and removing procedure of thread will be performed aseptic and secretly for patient-blinding and prevention of infection.

Interventions

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Thread Embedding Acupuncture (TEA)

TEA in 1 month for 4 months The six TEA points used in this study are GV20, BL15, BL18, ST40, GV14 and GB34.

Acupuncture point Procedure Baihui (GV20) oblique insertion toward nose, 3cm Both Xin Shu (BL15) perpendicular insertion, 3cm Both Gan Shu (BL18) perpendicular insertion, 3cm Both Fenglong (ST40) perpendicular insertion, 3cm Dazhui (GV14) perpendicular insertion, 3cm Both Yanglingquan (GB34) perpendicular insertion, 3cm

Intervention Type OTHER

Sham-TEA (STEA)

STEA in 1 month for 4 months All procedure of Sham-TEA group, including acupoints and size of TEA will be same as that of TEA group. However, thread-removed TEA will be used for STEA group instead of normal TEA, and removing procedure of thread will be performed aseptic and secretly for patient-blinding and prevention of infection.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* People with drug resistant epilepsy
* Volunteers who agree to participate and sign the Informed Consent Form, following a detailed explanation of clinical trials

Exclusion Criteria

* Under epilepsy surgery
* Inappropriate condition for thread-embedding acupuncture due to skin disease (the skin of the acupuncture point is swollen, hot, and red) or hemostatic disorder (PT INR (international normalized ratio )\> 2.0 or taking anticoagulant)
* Pregnant women or other inappropriate condition for thread-embedding acupuncture
* Other diseases that could affect or interfere with therapeutic outcomes, including body exhaustion, severe gastrointestinal disease, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, renal disease, liver disease or thyroid disorder
* TEA within 6 months previous
* Psychiatric disorder currently undergoing treatment such as depression or schizophrenia
* Heavy drinking (more than 3 cups per day)
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

60 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Minh-An Thuy Le

Lecturer, Principle Investigator

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Dan V Nguyen, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Medicine and Pharmacy at HCMC

Locations

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Nguyen Tri Phuong Hospital

Ho Chi Minh City, , Vietnam

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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Vietnam

Central Contacts

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Dan V Nguyen, MD

Role: CONTACT

+84983731326

Minh-An T Le, MD

Role: CONTACT

+84903754494

Facility Contacts

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Minh-An T Le, MD

Role: primary

+84903754494

Nguyen

Role: backup

+84983731326

References

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Cheuk DK, Wong V. Acupuncture for epilepsy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014 May 7;2014(5):CD005062. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD005062.pub4.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 24801225 (View on PubMed)

Chao D, Shen X, Xia Y. From Acupuncture to Interaction between delta-Opioid Receptors and Na (+) Channels: A Potential Pathway to Inhibit Epileptic Hyperexcitability. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013;2013:216016. doi: 10.1155/2013/216016. Epub 2013 Apr 3.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 23662118 (View on PubMed)

Kim E, Kim HS, Jung SY, Han CH, Kim YI. Efficacy and safety of polydioxanone thread embedded at specific acupoints for non-specific chronic neck pain: a study protocol for a randomized, subject-assessor-blinded, sham-controlled pilot trial. Trials. 2018 Dec 6;19(1):672. doi: 10.1186/s13063-018-3058-9.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 30522504 (View on PubMed)

J. Zhang, Y. Z. Li, and L. X. Zhuang (2006). Observation on therapeutic effect of 90 tonic-clonic epilepsy patients treated by catgut implantation therapy. Zhen Jiu Lin Chuang Za Zhi, vol. 22, no. 6, pp. 8-10, 2006

Reference Type RESULT

Kloster R, Larsson PG, Lossius R, Nakken KO, Dahl R, Xiu-Ling X, Wen-Xin Z, Kinge E, Edna Rossberg. The effect of acupuncture in chronic intractable epilepsy. Seizure. 1999 May;8(3):170-4. doi: 10.1053/seiz.1999.0278.

Reference Type RESULT
PMID: 10356376 (View on PubMed)

Da-ke XUAN, Advances of the study on acupoint catgut-embedding for epilepsy in recent 10 years, World Journal of Acupuncture - Moxibustion, Volume 22, Issue 3, 2012, Pages 37-46, ISSN 1003-5257, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1003-5257(12)60039-7.

Reference Type RESULT

Other Identifiers

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617/UMP-BOARD

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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