AzTrials
AzTrials

EndometriosisPhase 1/2NCT00034047

Endometriosis : Traditional Medicine vs Hormone Therapy

A Phase 1/2 study testing Acupuncture, Chinese Products and Nafarelin in people with Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain, run by National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) at 2 sites in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
Search all trials

Trial summary

This 36-week study will determine whether traditional Chinese medicine (acupuncture and Chinese herbs) is as effective as hormone therapy for alleviating endometriosis-related pelvic pain. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 45 years, women only
Conditions the study is for
Endometriosis, Pelvic Pain
What is being tested?
Acupuncture, Chinese Products and Nafarelin
Type of treatment
Surgery or procedure
How many people
50 participants
Where
2 sitesUnited States
Study dates
Sep 2002to Aug 2006
Phase
Phase 1/2
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 45 years
  • Women only
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult

Who may be able to join

  • Women with laparoscopy-confirmed endometriosis within the past 6 years
  • Experiencing chronic pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea (painful periods) and dyspareunia (painful intercourse), at least one of which is moderate to severe

Who cannot join

  • Use of traditional Chinese medicine for endometriosis. If previous treatment with hormone therapy, must have responded positively but not have been on hormone therapy within the past 6 months
  • Use of any form of hormone-based contraception during the 12-week treatment and 24-week follow-up periods
  • Diagnosed with any chronic condition other than endometriosis, or any other acute condition that causes pain
  • Pregnancy or breast feeding

Trial locations and contacts

2 sites in 1 country.

United States2 sites
  • Oregon Health Sciences University, Women's Health Research Unit

    Portland, Oregon, 97201

  • Oregon College of Oriental Medicine Clinic

    Portland, Oregon, 97216

Other trials in United States

About this study

This 36-week study will determine whether traditional Chinese medicine (acupuncture and Chinese herbs) is as effective as hormone therapy for alleviating endometriosis-related pelvic pain.

Read the detailed description

Endometriosis is a significant public health problem affecting 10-15% of women of childbearing age, many of whom suffer persistent pelvic pain and infertility. Therapeutic options include surgery and hormone therapy that are often temporarily effective but produce unwanted side-effects. The present proposal, based on case series reports of the effectiveness of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM: acupuncture and Chinese herbs) for this condition, aims to evaluate whether TCM is as effective as hormone therapy for alleviating endometriosis-related chronic pain.

Women with laparoscopy-diagnosed endometriosis will be randomly assigned to either TCM or hormone therapy. Women assigned to TCM will be divided into four sub-groups on the basis of the diagnostic categories of endometriosis recognized by TCM. A pre-established acupuncture protocol and herbal formula specific for each sub-group will be followed. This aspect of the research design permits an important feature of the clinical practice of TCM (matching treatment to sub-group diagnosis) to be adopted in a clinical trial. Women assigned to hormone therapy will be treated with the gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa), nafarelin, chosen for this study on the basis of its clinical trial-established efficacy, ease of patient usage via intranasal spray and milder side-effect profile relative to other GnRHa's. Pelvic pain symptoms (patient-scored) and signs (physician-scored) will be assessed at baseline, after 12 weeks of treatment, and at 12- and 24-week post-treatment follow-up. Pelvic examination scores will be determined by a physician blinded to the treatment group assignments. Side effects, including those of pseudomenopause known to result from GnRHa therapy, will be recorded in both groups at 4-week intervals during the 12-week treatment, and at each follow-up time. A further objective is to make a preliminary assessment of whether diagnostic sub-groups of endometriosis recognized by TCM serve as predictors of differential response to hormone therapy. Data obtained from this study, on treatment effectiveness, side effect profiles, recurrence of symptoms, compliance with therapy and drop-out rates, will be used to design a large-scale clinical trial.

Being tested
Acupuncture, Chinese Products, Nafarelin
Keywords
Endometriosis, Pelvic pain, Acupuncture, Chinese herbs, Hormone therapy, Nafarelin
Medical subject headings
Endometriosis, Pelvic Pain

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • AcupunctureProcedure or surgery

  • Chinese ProductsDrug

  • NafarelinDrug

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Pain assessments

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted22 Apr 2002 (estimated)
  2. Study startSep 2002
  3. Primary completionAug 2006
  4. Study completionAug 2006

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase 1/2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
50 participants
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00034047
Sponsor's protocol ID
R21AT000453-01
Status last verified
Jan 2008
First submitted
19 Apr 2002
Last updated
25 Jan 2008
Results posted
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 1/2 study testing Acupuncture, Chinese Products and Nafarelin in people with Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain, run by National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) at 2 sites in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 4 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 25 Jan 2008. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 2 sites in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this combined phase mean?

Phase 1 studies test a treatment in a small group of people for the first time or in a new way, mainly to check safety and find the right dose.

Phase 2 studies give the treatment to a larger group to see whether it has the intended effect and to keep checking safety.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Pain assessments. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 25 Jan 2008.

Free account

Log in to keep searching

You’ve used your 3 free searches. AzTrials is free: log in or create a free account to keep searching clinical trials and save the ones you want to follow.

Create a free accountLog in