Persian Gulf SyndromeNCT02075489
Acupressure for Pain Management and Fatigue Relief in Gulf War Veterans
A study testing Acupressure treatment. and Reiki in people with Persian Gulf Syndrome and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, run by The Cleveland Clinic at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This study will provide symptomatic veterans with acupressure treatment and determine its effectiveness in fatigue relief and pain management for Gulf War Illness (GWI). Investigators plan to recruit patients reporting symptoms of GWI through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and randomize them into acupressure… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 70 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Persian Gulf Syndrome, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- What is being tested?
- Acupressure treatment. and Reiki
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 7 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- Sep 2012to Oct 2017
- Phase
- Interventional
- 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 70 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Veterans with Gulf War Illness for more than 6 months
- Over 18 years old (male or female)
- Additional inclusion criteria:
- A score of 5 and above for severity and 5 and above for interference by BPI.
- A score of 3 and above by revised Piper Fatigue Scale.
Who cannot join
- Pregnant woman;
- fatigue can be explained by existing causes (i.e., eating disorder);
- previous neuromuscular or mood disorders (i.e., bipolar disorder);
- previous cognitive problems (i.e., schizophrenia, dementia, delusional disorder);
- significant cardiovascular problems;
- under other rehabilitation treatment that can significantly differentiate the subject from others.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: Effectiveness of Acupressure Treatment in Pain Management and Fatigue Relief for Gulf War Veterans
This study will provide symptomatic veterans with acupressure treatment and determine its effectiveness in fatigue relief and pain management for Gulf War Illness (GWI). Investigators plan to recruit patients reporting symptoms of GWI through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and randomize them into acupressure group (to receive acupressure treatment) and control group (to receive Reiki treatment). The acupressure treatment, twice per week for 6 weeks, will be offered by a licensed acupressure practitioner. Evaluations will be made before and after treatment (at 6 weeks). Clinical outcomes will be compared between groups (acupressure group vs. control group) and between different timepoints (before treatment vs. after treatment) within the same group.
The results of this study may provide useful information to develop more effective treatment for veterans with GWI disease. Since acupressure treatment is of Asian origin and has shown excellent promise within its Eastern traditions, if successful, this study has the potential to produce a paradigm shift in clinical practice to more effectively relieve the symptoms of veterans with GWI disease. Meanwhile, as a non-invasive therapeutic massage, acupressure may lend to better patient acceptance and ultimately, greater clinical accessibility.
Read more
Hypotheses
- Acupressure besides routine clinical care will produce a more complete fatigue relief and pain alleviation in veterans with GWI versus routine clinical care plus reiki treatment.
- EEG measures will exhibit a positive change when fatigue is relieved and pain is alleviated for symptomatic veterans after effective treatment.
Read the detailed description
Symptomatic veterans will receive standardized acupressure treatment, first with one-thumb pressing applied to the head at acupoints of GV-20 (Bai Hui), EX-HN-3 (Yin Tang), Du-24 (Shen Ting), ST-8 (Tou Wei), EX-HN-5 (Tai Yang). B-2 (Zan Zhu), M-HN-6 (Yu Yao), and SJ-23 (Si Zhu Kong) for ~5 s on each acupoint until the subject gets the sense of soreness and numbness, and the procedure will be repeated three times. The frequency of one-thumb pressing is 120±10 times per minute and the force is 10±2 Newtons. Kneading massage will be applied around eyes and forehead, and face will be swabbed by palm for ~ 5 min. Manipulation of these acupoints is aimed at helping to calm and ease the subject, lighten headache and migraine, relieve fatigue, and alleviate insomnia. Finally, LI- 4 (He Gu), LI-11 (Qu Chi), HT-7(Shen Men), ST-32 (Fu Tu), SP-10 (Xue Hai), ST-36 (Zu San Li), and KI-3 (Tai Xi) acupoints will be one-thumb pressed for 10 min. Manipulations on these acupoints and meridians located on the limbs is to relax muscles, alleviate muscle and joint pain, and improve mobility. This protocol is based on our consultant's previous acupressure research and clinical practice, our pilot case study for CFS patient, and the basic rationale in traditional Chinese acupressure medicine (Yan, 2003; Cao, 2006).
A matter of great concern in investigating oriental alternative and complementary interventions is standardizability and repeatability of experiments. In this proposed study the process of identifying the location of acupoints and underlying meridians for each subject will be carried out using Western anatomy and the World Health Organization's Standard Acupuncture Point Locations (Lim, 2009). The level of manipulation (force and frequency of pressing and kneading) will be monitored by the TN-II manipulation radiometer (Shangxin Medical Science \& Technology Co. Ltd, Shanghai, China), which has been successfully used to normalize acupressure manipulation in previous research (Ma et al., 2006). In this manner, the whole treatment design would be standardized as much as possible and could be repeated in the future by our own and other groups.
Reiki: Veterans in the control group will receive reiki treatment with the same dosage (40 min/session, 12 sessions in 6 wks). The practitioner will place the hands on the recipient in various positions covering head, the back of the torso, and the 4 limbs with fixed set of 12 hand positions. These covered areas will then be tapped and stroked, and practitioner will focus his/her gaze on these areas for 2-3 min, through which the healing energy is transferred to the subjects.
- Conditions
- Persian Gulf Syndrome, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Being tested
- Acupressure treatment., Reiki
- Keywords
- Acupressure, Reiki, EEG, EMG, fatigue relief, veterans
- Medical subject headings
- Persian Gulf Syndrome, Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Acupressure treatment.Other
Acupressure will be provided 40 min/day, 2 days/week for 6 weeks (total of 12 sessions). Symptomatic veterans will receive standardized acupressure treatment for ~5 s on each acupoint until the subject gets the sense of soreness and numbness, and the procedure will be repeated three times. Kneading massage will be applied around eyes and forehead, and face will be swabbed by palm for ~ 5 min. Manipulation of these acupoints is aimed at helping to calm and ease the subject, lighten headache and migraine, relieve fatigue, and alleviate insomnia.
ReikiOther
Veterans in the control group will receive reiki treatment with the same dosage (40 min/session, 12 sessions in 6 wks). The practitioner will place his/her hands on the recipient in various positions covering head, the back of the torso, and the 4 limbs with fixed set of 12 hand positions. These covered areas will then be tapped and stroked, and practitioner will focus his/her gaze on these areas for 2-3 min, through which the healing energy is transferred to the subjects. In a format similar to acupressure treatment, it will be used as an inert control treatment to balance additional care the experimental group will receive.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Acupressure | Experimental | This group of patients will serve as the experimental group and receive acupressure treatment in addition to routine clinical care. Acupressure will be provided 40 mins/day, 2 days/week for 6 weeks (total of 12 sessions). Receives: Other: Acupressure treatment. |
| Reiki | Active comparator | This group of participants will serve as control group and receive Reiki treatment in addition to routine clinical care. Reiki will be provided 40 mins/day, 2 days/week for 6 weeks (total of 12 sessions). Receives: Other: Reiki |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Piper Fatigue Scale
Piper et al., The revised Piper Fatigue Scale: psychometric evaluation in women with breast cancer. Oncol Nurs Forum 1998 25(4):677-84. This scale is used to assess fatigue levels in patients.
Measured: Change from baseline score will be assessed at 6 weeks.
Secondary outcomes (1)
Changes in corticomuscular coherence
Changes in the relation between brain (EEG) and muscle (EMG) surface signals will be analyzed. This is a non-invasive procedure.
Measured: Change from baseline score will be assessed at 6 weeks.
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted3 Mar 2014 (estimated)
- Study startSep 2012
- Primary completionOct 2017
- Study completionOct 2017
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Persian Gulf SyndromeStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by The Cleveland ClinicThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
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 N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 7 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- The Cleveland Clinic
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Vernon W Lin, MD PhD, Principal investigator, The Cleveland Clinic
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02075489
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- W81XWH1210567
- Status last verified
- Oct 2017
- First submitted
- 26 Feb 2014
- Last updated
- 10 Oct 2017
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 10 Oct 2017. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Effectiveness of Acupressure Treatment in Pain Management and Fatigue Relief for Gulf War Veterans
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02075489
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- W81XWH1210567
- Conditions
- Persian Gulf Syndrome, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Keywords
- Acupressure, Reiki, EEG, EMG, fatigue relief, veterans
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 7 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- The Cleveland ClinicUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- Sep 2012
- Primary completion
- Oct 2017 (actual)
- Study completion
- Oct 2017 (actual)
- First posted
- 3 Mar 2014 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This study will provide symptomatic veterans with acupressure treatment and determine its effectiveness in fatigue relief and pain management for Gulf War Illness (GWI). Investigators plan to recruit patients reporting symptoms of GWI through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and randomize them into acupressure group (to receive acupressure treatment) and control group (to receive Reiki treatment). The acupressure treatment, twice per week for 6 weeks, will be offered by a licensed acupressure practitioner. Evaluations will be made before and after treatment (at 6 weeks). Clinical outcomes will be compared between groups (acupressure group vs. control group) and between different timepoints (before treatment vs. after treatment) within the same group.
The results of this study may provide useful information to develop more effective treatment for veterans with GWI disease. Since acupressure treatment is of Asian origin and has shown excellent promise within its Eastern traditions, if successful, this study has the potential to produce a paradigm shift in clinical practice to more effectively relieve the symptoms of veterans with GWI disease. Meanwhile, as a non-invasive therapeutic massage, acupressure may lend to better patient acceptance and ultimately, greater clinical accessibility.
Hypotheses
- Acupressure besides routine clinical care will produce a more complete fatigue relief and pain alleviation in veterans with GWI versus routine clinical care plus reiki treatment.
- EEG measures will exhibit a positive change when fatigue is relieved and pain is alleviated for symptomatic veterans after effective treatment.
Detailed description
Symptomatic veterans will receive standardized acupressure treatment, first with one-thumb pressing applied to the head at acupoints of GV-20 (Bai Hui), EX-HN-3 (Yin Tang), Du-24 (Shen Ting), ST-8 (Tou Wei), EX-HN-5 (Tai Yang). B-2 (Zan Zhu), M-HN-6 (Yu Yao), and SJ-23 (Si Zhu Kong) for ~5 s on each acupoint until the subject gets the sense of soreness and numbness, and the procedure will be repeated three times. The frequency of one-thumb pressing is 120±10 times per minute and the force is 10±2 Newtons. Kneading massage will be applied around eyes and forehead, and face will be swabbed by palm for ~ 5 min. Manipulation of these acupoints is aimed at helping to calm and ease the subject, lighten headache and migraine, relieve fatigue, and alleviate insomnia. Finally, LI- 4 (He Gu), LI-11 (Qu Chi), HT-7(Shen Men), ST-32 (Fu Tu), SP-10 (Xue Hai), ST-36 (Zu San Li), and KI-3 (Tai Xi) acupoints will be one-thumb pressed for 10 min. Manipulations on these acupoints and meridians located on the limbs is to relax muscles, alleviate muscle and joint pain, and improve mobility. This protocol is based on our consultant's previous acupressure research and clinical practice, our pilot case study for CFS patient, and the basic rationale in traditional Chinese acupressure medicine (Yan, 2003; Cao, 2006).
A matter of great concern in investigating oriental alternative and complementary interventions is standardizability and repeatability of experiments. In this proposed study the process of identifying the location of acupoints and underlying meridians for each subject will be carried out using Western anatomy and the World Health Organization's Standard Acupuncture Point Locations (Lim, 2009). The level of manipulation (force and frequency of pressing and kneading) will be monitored by the TN-II manipulation radiometer (Shangxin Medical Science \& Technology Co. Ltd, Shanghai, China), which has been successfully used to normalize acupressure manipulation in previous research (Ma et al., 2006). In this manner, the whole treatment design would be standardized as much as possible and could be repeated in the future by our own and other groups.
Reiki: Veterans in the control group will receive reiki treatment with the same dosage (40 min/session, 12 sessions in 6 wks). The practitioner will place the hands on the recipient in various positions covering head, the back of the torso, and the 4 limbs with fixed set of 12 hand positions. These covered areas will then be tapped and stroked, and practitioner will focus his/her gaze on these areas for 2-3 min, through which the healing energy is transferred to the subjects.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Acupressure | Experimental | Other: Acupressure treatment.This group of patients will serve as the experimental group and receive acupressure treatment in addition to routine clinical care. Acupressure will be provided 40 mins/day, 2 days/week for 6 weeks (total of 12 sessions). |
| Reiki | Active comparator | Other: ReikiThis group of participants will serve as control group and receive Reiki treatment in addition to routine clinical care. Reiki will be provided 40 mins/day, 2 days/week for 6 weeks (total of 12 sessions). |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 70 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Veterans with Gulf War Illness for more than 6 months
- Over 18 years old (male or female)
- Additional inclusion criteria:
- A score of 5 and above for severity and 5 and above for interference by BPI.
- A score of 3 and above by revised Piper Fatigue Scale.
Key exclusion criteria (6 listed)
- Pregnant woman;
- fatigue can be explained by existing causes (i.e., eating disorder);
- previous neuromuscular or mood disorders (i.e., bipolar disorder);
- previous cognitive problems (i.e., schizophrenia, dementia, delusional disorder);
- significant cardiovascular problems;
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Acupressure treatment.Acupressure will be provided 40 min/day, 2 days/week for 6 weeks (total of 12 sessions). Symptomatic veterans will receive standardized acupressure treatment for ~5 s on each acupoint until the subject gets the sense of soreness and numbness, and the procedure will be repeated three times. Kneading massage will be applied around eyes and forehead, and face will be swabbed by palm for ~ 5 min. Manipulation of these acupoints is aimed at helping to calm and ease the subject, lighten headache and migraine, relieve fatigue, and alleviate insomnia. | Other | Acupressure |
| ReikiVeterans in the control group will receive reiki treatment with the same dosage (40 min/session, 12 sessions in 6 wks). The practitioner will place his/her hands on the recipient in various positions covering head, the back of the torso, and the 4 limbs with fixed set of 12 hand positions. These covered areas will then be tapped and stroked, and practitioner will focus his/her gaze on these areas for 2-3 min, through which the healing energy is transferred to the subjects. In a format similar to acupressure treatment, it will be used as an inert control treatment to balance additional care the experimental group will receive. | Other | Reiki |
Primary outcome
Piper Fatigue Scale
Time frame: Change from baseline score will be assessed at 6 weeks.
Piper et al., The revised Piper Fatigue Scale: psychometric evaluation in women with breast cancer. Oncol Nurs Forum 1998 25(4):677-84. This scale is used to assess fatigue levels in patients.
1 secondary outcome
Changes in corticomuscular coherence
Time frame: Change from baseline score will be assessed at 6 weeks.
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 10 Oct 2017.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
Related trials for Persian Gulf Syndrome
Not yet recruiting
Pycnogenol (French Maritime Pine Bark) for the Treatment of Gulf War Illness
Gulf War Syndrome
RecruitingPhase 1
Clinical Evaluation of Montelukast in Veterans With Gulf War Illness
Gulf War Syndrome
RecruitingPhase 2
Growth Hormone Replacement in Veterans With GWI and AGHD (GWIT)
Gulf War Syndrome, Adult Growth Hormone Deficiency
RecruitingPhase 2
Resistant Potato Starch to Alleviate GWI
Gulf War Illness
RecruitingPhase 3
Coenzyme Q10 for Gulf War Illness: A Replication Study
Gulf War Syndrome, Persian Gulf Syndrome
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Vernon W Lin, MD PhD principal investigator
The Cleveland Clinic
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Acupressure treatment. and Reiki in people with Persian Gulf Syndrome and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, run by The Cleveland Clinic at 1 site 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 5 inclusion and 6 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 10 Oct 2017. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site 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.
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?
Piper Fatigue Scale (time frame: Change from baseline score will be assessed at 6 weeks.). 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 10 Oct 2017.