NCT06144320

Brief Summary

After being infected with Covid-19, many people developed to Brain fog. The treatment strategy now is based on the presumed pathological phenomenon and the physician's clinical experience. Acupuncture has been used to improve cognitive dysfunction caused by central nervous system diseases for many years. A randomized rater-blinded controlled study is proposed to see the efficacy of acupuncture for brain fog.

Trial Health

35
At Risk

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Trial has exceeded expected completion date
Enrollment
40

participants targeted

Target at P25-P50 for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Nov 2023

Status
unknown

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Start

First participant enrolled

November 1, 2023

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

November 1, 2023

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

November 1, 2023

Completed
20 days until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

November 21, 2023

Completed
1 day until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

November 22, 2023

Completed
Last Updated

November 29, 2023

Status Verified

July 1, 2023

Enrollment Period

Same day

First QC Date

November 21, 2023

Last Update Submit

November 24, 2023

Conditions

Keywords

Brain fog

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • cognitive function

    Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) is used to assess include orientation, memory, calculation ability and attention, information registration, operational ability, language comprehension, spatial concepts.

    The measurement is assessed before the first treatment, and recheck on 4th,8th week and 4 weeks after finishing the course of treatment.

Secondary Outcomes (1)

  • Concentration difficulty

    The measurement is assessed before the first treatment, and recheck on 4th,8th week and 4 weeks after finishing the course of treatment.

Study Arms (2)

Treatment group

EXPERIMENTAL

Practicing acupuncture on specific acupoints. The retention time of the needle is 30 minutes every time and the frequency of treatment is 3 times per week for 8 weeks.

Other: Acupuncture

Placebo group

SHAM COMPARATOR

Practicing sham acupuncture on specific acupoints is the same as the treatment group, and also the same retention and frequency. This study used the specifically made needle with a blunt tip, the Streitberger device, as the sham acupuncture. The needle does not penetrate the skin and retracts in the handle while the acupuncturist needles into the skin.

Other: Acupuncture

Interventions

Acupuncture is performed using acupuncture points recorded in traditional Chinese medicine books as helpful for cognitive impairment.

Placebo groupTreatment group

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years - 65 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Have been tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2) or had serum antibody positivity more than 12 weeks before.
  • Present cognitive impairment after been diagnosed as Covid-19
  • Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) score of 1
  • Normal activities of daily living score (ADL)
  • (Mini-Mental State Examination) MMSE score of 24-28
  • Age of 18-65 years
  • Signed informed consent

You may not qualify if:

  • Diagnosed with any type of dementia.
  • A history of acute or chronic cerebrovascular disease, encephalitis, Parkinson's disease, Leukoencephalopathy, and other central nervous system diseases
  • A history of hypothyroidism, vitamin B12 deficiency, depression, syphilis, and other diseases that may affect cognitive decline.
  • Severe hearing and visual impairment, inability to complete neuropsychological tests
  • Impaired liver and kidney function and hematopoietic system disorders

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Related Publications (5)

  • Leng A, Shah M, Ahmad SA, Premraj L, Wildi K, Li Bassi G, Pardo CA, Choi A, Cho SM. Pathogenesis Underlying Neurological Manifestations of Long COVID Syndrome and Potential Therapeutics. Cells. 2023 Mar 6;12(5):816. doi: 10.3390/cells12050816.

    PMID: 36899952BACKGROUND
  • Seessle J, Waterboer T, Hippchen T, Simon J, Kirchner M, Lim A, Muller B, Merle U. Persistent Symptoms in Adult Patients 1 Year After Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A Prospective Cohort Study. Clin Infect Dis. 2022 Apr 9;74(7):1191-1198. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciab611.

  • Venkataramani V, Winkler F. Cognitive Deficits in Long Covid-19. N Engl J Med. 2022 Nov 10;387(19):1813-1815. doi: 10.1056/NEJMcibr2210069. No abstract available.

  • Kao J, Frankland PW. COVID fog demystified. Cell. 2022 Jul 7;185(14):2391-2393. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.06.020. Epub 2022 Jun 15.

  • Lempriere S. Inflammation links mild COVID-19 with long-term cognitive impairment. Nat Rev Neurol. 2022 Aug;18(8):453. doi: 10.1038/s41582-022-00694-x.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Mental Fatigue

Interventions

Acupuncture Therapy

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

FatigueSigns and SymptomsPathological Conditions, Signs and SymptomsBehavioral SymptomsBehavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Complementary TherapiesTherapeutics

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
SINGLE
Who Masked
PARTICIPANT
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
doctor

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

November 21, 2023

First Posted

November 22, 2023

Study Start

November 1, 2023

Primary Completion

November 1, 2023

Study Completion

November 1, 2023

Last Updated

November 29, 2023

Record last verified: 2023-07

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will not share