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Acupuncture for the Treatment of Vision Loss Due to Retinitis Pigmentosa

NCT01604356 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: PHASE1 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 19

Last updated 2014-03-04

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) patients are interested in trying alternative therapies to attempt to slow, halt or reverse the retinal disease process, and claim success with some approaches such as acupuncture, but this potential treatment has not been put to the test of objective, rigorous scientific study conducted in western society. In this pilot study, the investigators aim to evaluate an acupuncture treatment tailored to the RP population for its feasibility to improve visual function, specifically visual field and dark adaptation. The study results may provide a basis for eye care providers' recommendations to RP patients regarding whether to consider acupuncture as a potential treatment modality. If our hypotheses regarding improvements in vision beyond typical test variability are supported, our future research goals include the conduct of a larger clinical trial with involving randomization and a placebo control for acupuncture in RP.

Conditions

Interventions

PROCEDURE

Electro-acupuncture

Ten treatment sessions at our center during a two week period (5 sessions per week). Each session will last approximately 30 minutes. The intervention will involve the placement of acupuncture needles in a standard set of points across all patients, located on the head, around the eyes, on the abdomen, on the hands, feet, arms and legs. An electro-acupuncture device \[Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator (TENS) unit by Lhasa OMS Inc.; model AWQ-104L\] and will be used on four of the acupuncture points (two per session) located on the forehead, and side of the face/temple.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
10 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2012-04-30
Primary Completion
2013-12-31
Completion
2013-12-31

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Entities

Diseases
Companies

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT01604356 on ClinicalTrials.gov