Transcutaneous Electroacupuncture for Gastric Complications of Scleroderma

Study Purpose

An innovative method of needleless transcutaneous electroacupuncture (TEA) using a newly developed watch-size stimulator is proposed. Weak electrical current will be delivered via skin surface electrodes to acupuncture points related to gastrointestinal functions. The stimulator can be attached to the skin near the acupuncture points and therefore daily activity of the patient does not need to be altered. Two experiments are designed to prove the feasibility of the proposed therapy for gastric complications of Scleroderma .

Recruitment Criteria

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Healthy volunteers are participants who do not have a disease or condition, or related conditions or symptoms

Yes
Study Type

An interventional clinical study is where participants are assigned to receive one or more interventions (or no intervention) so that researchers can evaluate the effects of the interventions on biomedical or health-related outcomes.


An observational clinical study is where participants identified as belonging to study groups are assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.


Searching Both is inclusive of interventional and observational studies.

Interventional
Eligible Ages 18 Years and Over
Gender All
More Inclusion & Exclusion Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

  • - No any systemic diseases; - no scleroderma; no history of gastrointestinal surgery; - no dyspeptic symptoms during the past 2 weeks; - not taking any medications except contraceptives during the past 2 weeks; - age 18 and older.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • - History of any systemic diseases or surgeries; - allergic to adhesives; pregnancy; - unable to sign the consent form.

Trial Details

Trial ID:

This trial id was obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, providing information on publicly and privately supported clinical studies of human participants with locations in all 50 States and in 196 countries.

NCT03294616
Phase

Phase 1: Studies that emphasize safety and how the drug is metabolized and excreted in humans.

Phase 2: Studies that gather preliminary data on effectiveness (whether the drug works in people who have a certain disease or condition) and additional safety data.

Phase 3: Studies that gather more information about safety and effectiveness by studying different populations and different dosages and by using the drug in combination with other drugs.

Phase 4: Studies occurring after FDA has approved a drug for marketing, efficacy, or optimal use.

N/A
Lead Sponsor

The sponsor is the organization or person who oversees the clinical study and is responsible for analyzing the study data.

Johns Hopkins University
Principal Investigator

The person who is responsible for the scientific and technical direction of the entire clinical study.

Jiande Chen, Ph.D
Principal Investigator Affiliation Johns Hopkins University
Agency Class

Category of organization(s) involved as sponsor (and collaborator) supporting the trial.

Other
Overall Status Recruiting
Countries United States
Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied.

Scleroderma, Gastroparesis
Arms & Interventions

Arms

Experimental: scleroderma patients-0

for acute study: The experiment in patients will be performed in 4 randomized sessions on separate days (at least 3 days apart): one control session with sham-TEA and 3 TEA sessions at various parameters. TEA will be applied on both acupoints ST36 and PC6; the following sets of parameters will be tested for TEA at ST36: A) standard parameters: the set used in the previous SSc study: 25 Hz, 0.3ms, 2s-on and 3s-off; B) same as A but pulse width of 0.6ms; C) same as B but 0.1s-on and 0.4s-off. For TEA at PC6, 25 Hz will be replaced by 100Hz because TEA at PC6 is used to treat symptoms and 100Hz is believed to be better than 25Hz. The patient will be fasted overnight, and the test will last 2 hours (1 hour fasting and 1 hour postprandial).

Experimental: scleroderma patient-1

for chronic study: 2 weeks of Sham transcutaneous electroacupuncture treatment, 2 weeks of wash out, 2 weeks of transcutaneous electroacupuncture/Sham transcutaneous electroacupuncture treatment. Best parameter gained from acute study will be used.

Experimental: scleroderma patients-2

for chronic study: 2 weeks of transcutaneous electroacupuncture treatment, 2 weeks of wash out, 2 weeks of transcutaneous electroacupuncture/Sham transcutaneous electroacupuncture treatment. Best parameter gained from acute study will be used.

Interventions

Device: - transcutaneous electroacupuncture

Weak electrical current will be generated by the device and delivered via skin surface electrodes to acupuncture points related to gastrointestinal functions

Contact a Trial Team

If you are interested in learning more about this trial, find the trial site nearest to your location and contact the site coordinator via email or phone. We also strongly recommend that you consult with your healthcare provider about the trials that may interest you and refer to our terms of service below.

Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland

Status

Recruiting

Address

Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center

Baltimore, Maryland, 21224

Site Contact

Jiande Chen, PhD

[email protected]

832-640-8111