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Brain Connectome for Acupuncture-treated Migraine Patients
Sponsor: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nīmes
Summary
Acupuncture has been a means of treating headaches and migraine since 2002 and is now a World Health Organisation-recognized prophylactic treatment for migraine. Brain activation/de-activation via acupuncture modifies the haemodynamic responses in the brain which may impact the sensorial, cognitive and affective dimensions of pain. Randomized studies on patients suffering from aura-free migraine have shown that the painkilling effect of regular acupuncture sessions on the cerebral substratum, compared with simulated sham-type acupuncture, can reduce the frequency of bouts of migraine, number of days with headaches and also their intensity. Modifications to the white matter (WM) and grey matter (GM) occur after repeated sessions of acupuncture treatment for pain and these are observable via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). It is a very sensitive technique and often used to detect functional and structural brain changes.
Official title: Brain Connectome for Migraine Patients Treated Via Acupuncture: A Randomized, Controlled Study Under Single-blind Conditions, With a Placebo Group and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - 60 Years
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
40
Start Date
2022-05-27
Completion Date
2025-04-24
Last Updated
2026-06-17
Healthy Volunteers
Yes
Conditions
Interventions
Real acupuncture
The patient will be treated for migraine with real acupuncture.
Sham acupuncture (placebo group)
Sham acupuncture is used as a control in scientific studies to test the efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of various disorders, in this case, migraine. In this study, the subjects will not know whether they are getting true acupuncture or not. In the placebo group, the acupuncture needles will not actually be inserted into the skin. Placebo needles consisting of a sliding tube and a retractible needle are applied to the acupunture reference point (marked by a pastille stuck on the skin). The patient should not be able to feel the difference between real acupuncture and sham acupuncture.
Locations (1)
CHU de Nîmes
Nîmes, France