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NCT Number: NCT06511011

Chinese Medicine in Treating Insomnia

This is a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Eligible participants will randomized into either treatment group (CM granules) or placebo group (placebo granules) for 6 weeks, followed by a post-treatment visit at week 9. The primary outcome is the change in Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) at week 6.

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Key information

Conditions

Insomnia Chronic Dyssomnias Mental Disorders Nervous System Diseases Sleep Disorders, Intrinsic Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders Sleep Wake Disorders

Age range

18 year–65 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Phase 2

Primary location

Hong Kong Institute of Integrative Medicine

Shatin, Hong Kong

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Zhixiu Lin

CONTACT

[email protected]

852-28733252

About this study

Insomnia is one of the most general health concerns in the society. It is generally defined as a self-reported sleep disorder problem of the patient, characterized by difficulty in falling asleep, or difficulty maintaining sleep. According to American Insomnia Survey, 42.6% of the respondents reported of having at least one of the insomnia symptoms.

Chinese medicine can be an alternative to the treatment of insomnia. Suan Zao Ren Tang and Tian Wang Bu Xin Dan are two of the most common Chinese herbal formulae to treat insomnia, for which Suan Zao Ren Tang has the functions to nourish blood and calm the mind, clear heat and alleviate vexation, and Tian Wang Bu Xin Dan has the function to nourish the heart and calm the mind, and nourish Yin and clear heat. In this study, we will modify the formula of Suan ZaoRen Tang with TianWang BuXin Dan, and observe the effectiveness and safety of the study drug.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Age from 18 to 65 years;
  • Eligible for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition, criteria for insomnia disorder. The criteria include having difficulties in falling asleep, difficulties in staying asleep, or early morning awakening with clinically significant consequences for daily life for at least 3 nights per week for at least 6 months;
  • Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) total score of at least 8 indicating insomnia at the clinical level;
  • Diagnosed to be Yin deficiency-induced internal heat pattern according to traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theory;
  • Able to complete questionnaires and take medications as scheduled; and
  • Voluntary written consent.

Exclusion criteria

  • Known nervous system disease (eg, stroke, Parkinson's Disease);
  • Known mental disorders (eg, depression or anxiety) or HADS score 11 or above in any either item;
  • Known sleeping related diseases (eg. sleep apnea, nocturnal myoclonus, restless legs, severe nocturnal enuresis or narcolepsy) that may affect the sleeping quality;
  • Known pharmacologically induced insomnia;
  • With symptoms that significantly disturb sleep such as pain, fever, diarrhea, frequent micturition, and cough;
  • Know treatment to comorbid sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea or narcolepsy;
  • Work on shift or on night shift;
  • Concomitant pharmacological treatment or herbal medicines for insomnia within the past month;
  • Known severe medical conditions, such as cardiovascular, liver, kidney or hematopoietic system disease, diabetes mellitus, cancers, cerebrovascular diseases;
  • Impaired hematological profile and liver / renal function exceeds the upper limit of the reference value by 2 times;
  • Known alcohol and / or drug abuse;
  • Known allergic history to any Chinese herbal medicines;
  • Diagnosed to be deficiency of spleen according to TCM theory;
  • Any contraindications for taking Chinese medicines in the opinion of the investigators;
  • Know pregnant or lactating; and
  • Involved in other interventional clinical studies at the same time.

Treatment and study plan

Modified Suan ZaoRen Tang-TianWang BuXin Dan

Drug

Chinese medicine granules for 6 weeks

Other names: mSZT-TBD

Placebo

Drug

Placebo granules for 6 weeks

Other names: Placebo granules

Primary outcomes

  1. The change in Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)

    Time frame: Week 6

    PSQI, which is a self-reported instrument, is commonly used in assessing the sleep quality in many studies. It consists of 19 items, covering seven domains, including subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleep medication, and daytime dysfunction.

    PSQI items use varying response categories that include recording usual bed time, usual wake time, number of actual hours slept, and number of minutes to fall asleep, as well as forced-choice Likert-type responses (scoring from 1-4, which 1 indicates the best and 4 indicates the worst).

Secondary outcomes

  1. The change in Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)

    Time frame: Week 3

    PSQI, which is a self-reported instrument, is commonly used in assessing the sleep quality in many studies. It consists of 19 items, covering seven domains, including subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleep medication, and daytime dysfunction.

    PSQI items use varying response categories that include recording usual bed time, usual wake time, number of actual hours slept, and number of minutes to fall asleep, as well as forced-choice Likert-type responses (scoring from 1-4, which 1 indicates the best and 4 indicates the worst).

  2. The change in Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)

    Time frame: Week 9

    PSQI, which is a self-reported instrument, is commonly used in assessing the sleep quality in many studies. It consists of 19 items, covering seven domains, including subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleep medication, and daytime dysfunction.

    PSQI items use varying response categories that include recording usual bed time, usual wake time, number of actual hours slept, and number of minutes to fall asleep, as well as forced-choice Likert-type responses (scoring from 1-4, which 1 indicates the best and 4 indicates the worst).

  3. Sleep parameter data

    Time frame: From baseline to week 9.

    Wrist actigraphy, which is a small size monitor, is an alternative to objectively measure the sleep patterns of subjects, the measuring parameters include sleep onset latency (SOL), wake time after sleep onset (WASO), total sleep time duration (TST), total time in bed (TIB), and sleep efficiency (SE). The actigraph will be recorded using Philips Actiwatch 2.

  4. The change in Insomnia Severity Index (ISI)

    Time frame: Week 3

    ISI is a self-reported questionnaire to assess both daytime and nighttime components of insomnia. It consists of seven items to evaluate the severity of sleep onset, sleep maintenance, and early morning awakening problems, sleep dissatisfaction, interference of sleep difficulties with daytime functioning, noticeability of sleep problems by others, and distress caused by the sleep difficulties. A 5-point Likert scale is used to rate each item (e.g., 0 = no problem; 4 = very severe problem), yielding a total score ranging from 0 to 28

  5. The change in Insomnia Severity Index (ISI)

    Time frame: Week 6

    ISI is a self-reported questionnaire to assess both daytime and nighttime components of insomnia. It consists of seven items to evaluate the severity of sleep onset, sleep maintenance, and early morning awakening problems, sleep dissatisfaction, interference of sleep difficulties with daytime functioning, noticeability of sleep problems by others, and distress caused by the sleep difficulties. A 5-point Likert scale is used to rate each item (e.g., 0 = no problem; 4 = very severe problem), yielding a total score ranging from 0 to 28

  6. The change in Insomnia Severity Index (ISI)

    Time frame: Week 9

    ISI is a self-reported questionnaire to assess both daytime and nighttime components of insomnia. It consists of seven items to evaluate the severity of sleep onset, sleep maintenance, and early morning awakening problems, sleep dissatisfaction, interference of sleep difficulties with daytime functioning, noticeability of sleep problems by others, and distress caused by the sleep difficulties. A 5-point Likert scale is used to rate each item (e.g., 0 = no problem; 4 = very severe problem), yielding a total score ranging from 0 to 28

  7. The change in Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)

    Time frame: Week 3

    HADS consists of 7 depression items and 7 anxiety items which measures the cognitive and emotional aspects of depression and anxiety. The scale is a 4-point Likert scale, ranging from 0 -3. Score range. 0 - 42 for the total score; 0 -21 for the HADS-Anxiety and HADS-Depression.

  8. The change in Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)

    Time frame: Week 6

    HADS consists of 7 depression items and 7 anxiety items which measures the cognitive and emotional aspects of depression and anxiety. The scale is a 4-point Likert scale, ranging from 0 -3. Score range. 0 - 42 for the total score; 0 -21 for the HADS-Anxiety and HADS-Depression.

  9. The change in Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)

    Time frame: Week 9

    HADS consists of 7 depression items and 7 anxiety items which measures the cognitive and emotional aspects of depression and anxiety. The scale is a 4-point Likert scale, ranging from 0 -3. Score range. 0 - 42 for the total score; 0 -21 for the HADS-Anxiety and HADS-Depression.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Cho Wing Lo

CONTACT

[email protected]

35053476

Zhixiu Lin

CONTACT

[email protected]

39436347

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Chinese University of Hong Kong

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Efficacy and Safety of Modified Suan ZaoRen Tang-TianWang BuXin Dan in the Treatment of Chronic Insomnia: A Randomized, Double-blinded, Placebo-controlled Trial

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2027
First posted
Jul 19, 2024
Registry last updated
Jul 27, 2026

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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