Transcutaneous Electroacupuncture for Gastroparesis

Summary

Gastroparesis is a common disease defined as delayed emptying of the stomach. It is present in at least 20% of about 150 million patients with diabetes worldwide and in more than 20% of patients with functional dyspepsia that affects about 10%-25% of the general population. Gastroparesis is a refractory disease with a lack of therapeutic options. Common symptoms of gastroparesis include nausea, vomiting, early satiety and abdominal bloating.

Electroacupuncture (EA) is a combined procedure with acupuncture and electrical current stimulation instead of manual manipulations of the needles. Recent studies in our lab with EA or transcutaneous EA (TEA) have suggested a therapeutic role of EA or TEA for gastric motility disorders. Improvement has been observed with EA or TEA in gastric emptying as well as dyspeptic symptoms. In this project, a micro-stimulator is designed and developed for the TEA therapy. The micro-stimulator is small enough so that it can be attached to the skin next to the stimulation electrodes and therefore the patient can resume normal daily activity while being treated by TEA. This is not only attractive but also more effective since TEA can be performed more often and for longer durations.

This exploratory project is designed to study the feasibility, efficacy and certain mechanisms of the proposed method of "wireless" TEA in patients with gastroparesis. Firstly the feasibility of the chronic use the proposed micro-stimulator will be studied. Secondly, the efficacy of the TEA in improving delayed gastric emptying and symptoms of gastroparesis will be investigated in a double-blinded crossover design in patients with diabetic or idiopathic gastroparesis. Thirdly, possible mechanisms involving pathogeneses of gastroparesis with TEA will be investigated.

Conditions

• Diabetic Gastroparesis

Interventions

DEVICE

TEA

Electroacupuncture at ST36

DEVICE

Sham-TEA

Electroacupuncture at sham-points

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

  collaborator NIH

• University of Mississippi Medical Center

  collaborator OTHER

• Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

  collaborator OTHER

• Transtimulation Research, Inc

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Jiande Chen, PhD · Transtimulation Research, Inc

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

65 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2010-03-31

Primary Completion

2012-07-31

Completion

2012-07-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations