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NCT Number: NCT03452384

Acupuncture in Depression: From the Clinical Trial, Biomarkers to Molecular Biology

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a serious psychiatric illness with a high lifetime prevalence rate and causes major clinical, social and economic burden to patients and their family. Despite more than 40 antidepressants with various mechanisms are available on the market, half of patients fail to achieve remission with optimized medication treatment. Due to unsatisfactory efficacy, frequent intolerability and poor compliance of psychopharmacotherapies, novel and safe alternative therapies are critically in need to improve the treatment of depression.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory describes a state of health maintained by a balance of energy in the body. If imbalanced, it can be corrected by acupuncture, the insertion of fine needles into different parts of the body. Although there are several clinical trials to demonstrate the antidepressant effects of acupuncture, its biological and physiological mechanisms are still unknown. In addition, clinical depression is frequently accompanied with somatic presentations, which are related to autonomic nervous dysfunction. It would be of interest to know if acupuncture could regulate autonomic nervous system (ANS) and improve the somatic symptoms in depression. The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of depression and to determine the influence of acupuncture on the molecular and ANS systems.

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Key information

Conditions

Major Depressive Disorder Depressive Disorder Depressive Disorder, Major Mental Disorders Mood Disorders

Age range

18 year–65 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

China Medical University Hospital

Taichung, 404, Taiwan

About this study

In this study,the investigators will test the antidepressant effect of acupuncture versus sham intervention on major depression, in an eight-week, double-blind, randomized-controlled trial in 40 MDD patients who still have significant depressive symptoms without changing at their treatment modality for the last 4 weeks. During the visits at weeks 0 (baseline), 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 (intervention), and 12 (4 weeks after intervention), subjects will be assessed depressive symptoms with the 21-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D). Before and after the intervention (Weeks 0 and 8),Computerized TCM constitution diagnosis will be measured and the blood samples will be collected for biomarker analyses, including neurotransmitter, inflammatory molecules and immunologic function. All parts of this research will start after being approved by the Institution Review Board in study sites.

The outcomes of this study could provide the evidence of applying acupuncture as an alternative effective treatment for depression and to improve the understanding of biological mechanisms for its antidepressant effects.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Clinical diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD)
  • Over 18 on the 21-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression

Exclusion criteria

  • Schizophrenia
  • Ubstance dependence disorders

Treatment and study plan

Acupuncture

Other

For real acupuncture, disposable acupuncture needles (0.22 x 30-mm sterile stainless needles) were inserted into acupoints for a depth of 10-30 mm in a direction oblique or parallel to the surface. To ensure allocation concealment, the inserted needles were affixed with adhesive tapes so that real acupuncture procedure will be identical to control acupuncture procedure. For sham acupuncture procedure, Streitberger's noninvasive placebo acupuncture needles will be used. Its validity and credibility have been well demonstrated (Streitberger and Kleinhenz, 1998).

Primary outcomes

  1. The Change from Baseline Hamilton depression rating scale at 12 weeks

    Time frame: weeks 0 (baseline) and 12 weeks

    This scale scores 0-64 points;The higher total score indicates a more severe

Secondary outcomes

  1. The Change from Baseline Pittsburgh sleep Quality Inventory rating scale at 12 weeks

    Time frame: weeks 0 (baseline) and 8 weeks

    This scale scores 0-21 points;The higher total score indicates a more severe depression

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan

Other Gov

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2014
Primary completion
2016
Study completion
2016
First posted
Mar 2, 2018
Registry last updated
Mar 5, 2018

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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