Comparison of Neuromodulatory Treatment of Migraine Headache with Acupuncture and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

NCT ID: NCT06834022

Last Updated: 2025-02-19

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

ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

120 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2023-04-04

Study Completion Date

2025-12-01

Brief Summary

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The goal of this clinical trial is to compare effects of the treatment with acupuncture and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in patients with migraine headache. The main questions it aims to answer are:

* is tDCS more effective than acupuncture/placebo?
* is there any difference in venous blood inflammatory parameters (CGRP (calcitonin gene related peptide), IL (interleukine) -6, IL-8. IL-10, SAA (serum amyloid A) and ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) before/after treatment?
* could these inflammatory parameters function as biomarkers of disease and/or indicators of treatment's efficacy?

Participants will regularly fill out questionnaires (migraine diary) and their venous blood before/after treatment will be taken for analysis.

Researchers will compare the effects of sham and verus treatment of both methods before and after treatment.

Detailed Description

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Conditions

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Migraine

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

TRIPLE

Participants Investigators Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

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Sham Acupuncture

Patients receive sham acupuncture (skin remains intact, away from standard acupuncture points)

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Acupuncture

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Acupuncture will be semistandardized, (every patient is stimulated over Li4, St36, Li3 + patient specific acu-points), 10 sessions

Verus Acupuncture

Patients receive acupuncture treatment over semistandardized acupuncture points for migraine headache.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Acupuncture

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Acupuncture will be semistandardized, (every patient is stimulated over Li4, St36, Li3 + patient specific acu-points), 10 sessions

Sham tDCS

Device will provide only placebo stimulation (study mode)

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Transcranial direct current stimulation

Intervention Type DEVICE

tDCS will be used according to instructions for use in migraine headache (supraorbital and M1 stimulation), 1 mA, 20 min, 10 sessions

verus tDCS

Device will stimulate with direct current (study mode)

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Transcranial direct current stimulation

Intervention Type DEVICE

tDCS will be used according to instructions for use in migraine headache (supraorbital and M1 stimulation), 1 mA, 20 min, 10 sessions

Interventions

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Transcranial direct current stimulation

tDCS will be used according to instructions for use in migraine headache (supraorbital and M1 stimulation), 1 mA, 20 min, 10 sessions

Intervention Type DEVICE

Acupuncture

Acupuncture will be semistandardized, (every patient is stimulated over Li4, St36, Li3 + patient specific acu-points), 10 sessions

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* 4 migraine days per month
* no acupuncture in the past
* understanding of study design and ability to give informed consent

Exclusion Criteria

* severe psychiatric disorders
* pacemaker
* status post brain surgery with open skull
* brain stimulators
* metal implants
* biologic drugs
* pregnancy
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

65 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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University Medical Centre Ljubljana

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Alenka Spindler-Vesel

MD, PhD, Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Manja Mlakar, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Ljubljana

Locations

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Hospital dr. Petra Držaja

Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Site Status

Countries

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Slovenia

Other Identifiers

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0120-421/2022/3

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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