Combining Acupuncture and Acupressure for Dementia Elderly

Dementia Clinical Trial

Official title:

Combining Acupuncture and Acupressure for Dementia Elderly: an Assessor-blinded, Randomized Controlled Trial

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT04305951
• Other study ID #: UW 19-821
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: October 5, 2021
• Est. completion date: August 2025

Study information

• Verified date: May 2024
• Source: The University of Hong Kong
• Contact: Zhang-Jin Zhang, MMed, PhD
• Phone: +852 3917 6445
• Email: zhangzj[@]hku.hk
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

This is an assessor-blinded, randomized controlled trial. A total of 248 elderly people aged ≥65 years with a mid-mild to moderate dementia will be recruited from local nursing and care homes. They will be randomly assigned to routine care, CAT, CAE, and CAT+CAE with n = 62 subjects each group. Subjects assigned to CAT, CAE, and CAT+CAE will respectively receive 2 sessions of CAT, 3 sessions of CAE, and a combination of both per week for 12 weeks. The primary outcome is baseline-to-endpoint change in score of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Secondary outcomes include various domains of MoCA, functional independence, psychological well-being; sleep quality, and level of pain. A generalized linear mixed-effect model will be used to compare outcomes over time among the four groups.

Description:

Currently, there are about 100,000 people aged 65 years and older who are suffering from clinically diagnosed dementia in Hong Kong (HK). With an ageing population, this number will increase to 280,000 by 2036. Most dementia elderly live in s nursing homes and elderly daycare centers. Dementia is the major cause of disability and dependency in elderly people. It poses a significant burden on caregivers, families, and the public healthcare system. Patients with dementia not only have a wide range of cognitive impairment, including progressive memory loss, increasing difficulty in communication and language, concentration and attention, reasoning and judgment, but also develop a variety of frailty-related symptoms, mainly including physical and psychological frailty, such as musculoskeletal deterioration, neurological disorders, sleep, emotional, and even psychotic symptoms. The overall purpose of the management of dementia elderly is to reduce dementia- and frailty-caused adverse outcomes that increase disability, dependency, hospitalization, and long-term care admission. However, there is a dearth of effective interventions improving the quality of life of elderly with dementia. The development of holistic management strategies that not only prevent and slow cognitive deterioration, but also reduce various other symptoms is therefore highly desired.

Acupuncture has been widely used in the local clinical practice. Numerous studies have shown the benefits of acupuncture in reducing cognitive deterioration in patients with cognitive impairment and dementia and animal models. Acupuncture is also effective in improving physical disability, rigidity, gait, and postural balance in aging adults with stroke and Parkinson's disease. A large body of evidence further confirms the effectiveness of various acupuncture regimens in treating pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, anxiety, and depression. On the other hand, it is well demonstrated that, as a convenient therapy, acupressure has particular benefits in alleviating sleep disturbance, anxiety, depression, and agitation in elderly with dementia. Acupressure also has positive effects on the recovery of motor function and daily activities of stroke patients. These studies suggest that a combination of acupuncture and acupressure could produce greater and broader benefits for the elderly with dementia.

Most recently, we have completed three clinical trials that evaluated the efficacy of acupuncture treatment of vascular dementia; stroke-caused cognitive deterioration , and chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment. All these trials have consistently revealed that acupuncture was effective in alleviating cognitive impairment. We also have shown the effectiveness of a caregiver-performed acupressure on the general quality of life in frail older people and self-administered acupressure for insomnia disorder. The caregiver-performed acupressure protocol is called 'Comfy Acupressure for the Elderly (CAE)' and demonstration video is accessible at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAqNIZPKmnM. Furthermore, our several studies have confirmed the efficacy of acupuncture in improving major depression ; insomnia and anxiety, poststroke depression and movement disability. Meanwhile, we have developed a novel acupuncture mode called comprehensive acupuncture therapy (CAT) that consists of dense frontal acupoints with additional electrical stimulation and multiple body acupoints. The efficacy of CAT has been well proven in our previous studies.

These studies have led us to hypothesize that CAT, CAE, and a combination of both as a holistic intervention could produce additive and even synergistic effects than routine care in improving cognitive impairment, frailty-related disability and dependency as well as comorbid symptoms in aged people with dementia.

The working hypothesis is that CAT, CAE, and a combination of both (CAT+CAE) could produce better management outcomes than routine care in improving cognitive impairment, frailty-related disability and dependency as well as comorbid symptoms of aged people with dementia. To test this hypothesis, an assessor-blinded, randomized controlled trial will be conducted to examine whether CAT+CAE could produce greater and broader improvement than routine care and even than CAT and CAE alone in improving cognitive deterioration and comorbid symptoms in dementia elderly.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Recruiting
• Enrollment: 248
• Est. completion date: August 2025
• Est. primary completion date: August 2024
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 65 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• have a clinical diagnosis of any type of dementia or met the criteria of major and mild neurocognitive disorder based on the Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), and

• have mild to moderate dementia at a stage of 3-5 on the Global Deterioration Scale (GDS).

Exclusion Criteria:

• have of dementia with the stage below 3 or above 5 on the GDS;

• have severe skin lesions on acupuncture and acupressure areas;

• have significant bleeding tendency;

• have heart pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator;

• are currently receiving acupressure as a regular therapy;

• had a surgery on the head or neck;

• are currently receiving anti-coagulant treatment.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Dementia

Intervention

Procedure:
• Comprehensive acupuncture therapy (CAT) (Hwato®/ Dongbang®)
CAT will be conducted for 2 sessions per week for 12 consecutive weeks. The following 15 body acupoints with only manual stimulation will be used: Shen-Men (HT7), He-Gu (LI4), Wai-Guan (TE5), Zu-San-Li (ST36), Feng-Long (ST40) and San-Yin-Jiao (SP6) in two sides, and Zhong-Wan (CV12), Guan-Yuan (CV4), and Shui-Gou (GV26) in midline. Electrical stimulation will be conducted on six pairs of frontal acupoints located on the frontal, parietal, and temporal scalp areas. Disposable acupuncture needles (0.30 mm in diameter and 25-40 mm in length) will be inserted at a depth of 10-30 mm perpendicularly or obliquely into acupoints. Manual manipulation will be carried out for all acupoints to evoke needling sensation. Electrical stimulation is additionally delivered on the 6 pairs of the frontal acupoints. Each session of treatment will last 30 min.
• Comfy Acupressure for the Elderly (CAE)
CAE intervention will be conducted for 3 times per week for 12 consecutive weeks. CAE consists of 12 steps which need about 15 min to complete and mainly concentrates on the acupoints on face, head, neck, and shoulder. The detailed CAE Operation Guide will be provided for the provider and the video demonstration is accessible at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAqNIZPKmnM.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Hong Kong	The University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
The University of Hong Kong

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Hong Kong, 

References & Publications (19)

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Chung KF, Yeung WF, Yu BY, Leung FC, Zhang SP, Zhang ZJ, Ng RM, Yiu GC. Acupuncture with or without combined auricular acupuncture for insomnia: a randomised, waitlist-controlled trial. Acupunct Med. 2018 Feb;36(1):2-13. doi: 10.1136/acupmed-2017-011371. Epub 2017 Dec 11. — View Citation

Hmwe NTT, Browne G, Mollart L, Allanson V, Chan SW. An integrative review of acupressure interventions for older people: A focus on sleep quality, depression, anxiety, and agitation. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2019 Mar;34(3):381-396. doi: 10.1002/gps.5031. Epub 2018 Dec 10. — View Citation

Kwan RYC, Leung MCP, Lai CKY. A Randomized Controlled Trial Examining the Effect of Acupressure on Agitation and Salivary Cortisol in Nursing Home Residents with Dementia. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2017;44(1-2):92-104. doi: 10.1159/000478739. Epub 2017 Jul 29. — View Citation

Man SC, Hung BH, Ng RM, Yu XC, Cheung H, Fung MP, Li LS, Leung KP, Leung KP, Tsang KW, Ziea E, Wong VT, Zhang ZJ. A pilot controlled trial of a combination of dense cranial electroacupuncture stimulation and body acupuncture for post-stroke depression. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2014 Jul 19;14:255. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-14-255. — View Citation

Margenfeld F, Klocke C, Joos S. Manual massage for persons living with dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Nurs Stud. 2019 Aug;96:132-142. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2018.12.012. Epub 2019 Jan 4. — View Citation

Qu SS, Huang Y, Zhang ZJ, Chen JQ, Lin RY, Wang CQ, Li GL, Wong HK, Zhao CH, Pan JY, Guo SC, Zhang YC. A 6-week randomized controlled trial with 4-week follow-up of acupuncture combined with paroxetine in patients with major depressive disorder. J Psychiatr Res. 2013 Jun;47(6):726-32. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2013.02.004. Epub 2013 Mar 14. — View Citation

Simoncini M, Gatti A, Quirico PE, Balla S, Capellero B, Obialero R, D'Agostino S, Sandri N, Pernigotti LM. Acupressure in insomnia and other sleep disorders in elderly institutionalized patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Aging Clin Exp Res. 2015 Feb;27(1):37-42. doi: 10.1007/s40520-014-0244-9. Epub 2014 May 31. — View Citation

Toosizadeh N, Lei H, Schwenk M, Sherman SJ, Sternberg E, Mohler J, Najafi B. Does integrative medicine enhance balance in aging adults? Proof of concept for the benefit of electroacupuncture therapy in Parkinson's disease. Gerontology. 2015;61(1):3-14. doi: 10.1159/000363442. Epub 2014 Oct 22. — View Citation

Wang S, Yang H, Zhang J, Zhang B, Liu T, Gan L, Zheng J. Efficacy and safety assessment of acupuncture and nimodipine to treat mild cognitive impairment after cerebral infarction: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2016 Sep 13;16(1):361. doi: 10.1186/s12906-016-1337-0. — View Citation

Wu YT, Ali GC, Guerchet M, Prina AM, Chan KY, Prince M, Brayne C. Prevalence of dementia in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Epidemiol. 2018 Jun 1;47(3):709-719. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyy007. — View Citation

Yang A, Wu HM, Tang JL, Xu L, Yang M, Liu GJ. Acupuncture for stroke rehabilitation. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016 Aug 26;2016(8):CD004131. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004131.pub3. — View Citation

Yang JW, Shi GX, Zhang S, Tu JF, Wang LQ, Yan CQ, Lin LL, Liu BZ, Wang J, Sun SF, Yang BF, Wu LY, Tan C, Chen S, Zhang ZJ, Fisher M, Liu CZ. Effectiveness of acupuncture for vascular cognitive impairment no dementia: a randomized controlled trial. Clin Rehabil. 2019 Apr;33(4):642-652. doi: 10.1177/0269215518819050. Epub 2019 Jan 23. — View Citation

Yang MH, Lin LC, Wu SC, Chiu JH, Wang PN, Lin JG. Comparison of the efficacy of aroma-acupressure and aromatherapy for the treatment of dementia-associated agitation. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2015 Mar 29;15:93. doi: 10.1186/s12906-015-0612-9. — View Citation

Yeung WF, Chung KF, Tso KC, Zhang SP, Zhang ZJ, Ho LM. Electroacupuncture for residual insomnia associated with major depressive disorder: a randomized controlled trial. Sleep. 2011 Jun 1;34(6):807-15. doi: 10.5665/SLEEP.1056. — View Citation

Yeung WF, Ho FY, Chung KF, Zhang ZJ, Yu BY, Suen LK, Chan LY, Chen HY, Ho LM, Lao LX. Self-administered acupressure for insomnia disorder: a pilot randomized controlled trial. J Sleep Res. 2018 Apr;27(2):220-231. doi: 10.1111/jsr.12597. Epub 2017 Sep 8. — View Citation

Yue S, Jiang X, Wong T. Effects of a nurse-led acupressure programme for stroke patients in China. J Clin Nurs. 2013 Apr;22(7-8):1182-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2012.04127.x. Epub 2012 Jul 17. — View Citation

Zhang ZJ, Ng R, Man SC, Li TY, Wong W, Tan QR, Wong HK, Chung KF, Wong MT, Tsang WK, Yip KC, Ziea E, Wong VT. Dense cranial electroacupuncture stimulation for major depressive disorder--a single-blind, randomized, controlled study. PLoS One. 2012;7(1):e29651. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0029651. Epub 2012 Jan 6. Erratum In: PLoS One. 2012 Feb 21;78(8). doi: 10.1371/annotation/b27d20b4-f41c-47af-b19f-a0278c993a2d. — View Citation

Zhang ZJ, Wang XM, McAlonan GM. Neural acupuncture unit: a new concept for interpreting effects and mechanisms of acupuncture. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012;2012:429412. doi: 10.1155/2012/429412. Epub 2012 Mar 8. — View Citation

* Note: There are 19 references in all — Click here to view all references

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Changes in Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)	Severity of dementia is primarily measured using Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Assessments will be conducted at baseline and once every six weeks thereafter.	Baseline, 6 week, 12 week
Secondary	Changes in Digit span test	Attentional function and working memory is measured using Digit span test. Assessments will be conducted at baseline and once every six weeks thereafter.	Baseline, 6 week, 12 week
Secondary	Changes in Bathel Index (BI)	Functional independence is measured using Bathel Index (BI). Assessments will be conducted at baseline and once every six weeks thereafter.	Baseline, 6 week, 12 week
Secondary	Changes in visual analogue (VA)	Pain is evaluated using visual analogue (VA). Assessments will be conducted at baseline and once every six weeks thereafter.	Baseline, 6 week, 12 week
Secondary	Changes in the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS)	Depressive symptoms are measured using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). GDS consists of 30 questions and each question is scored as either 0 or 1 points. Overall, the total score 0-9 serves as "normal", 10-19 as "mildly depressed", and 20-30 as "severely depressed". Assessments will be conducted at baseline and once every six weeks thereafter.	Baseline, 6 week, 12 week
Secondary	Changes in Insonmia Severity Index (ISI)	Sleep parameters are measured using Insonmia Severity Index (ISI). Assessments will be conducted at baseline and once every six weeks thereafter.	Baseline, 6 week, 12 week