Acupuncture Treatment on Cerebral Blood Flow
Withdrawn before enrolling · Phase 2 · Has a placebo group
Conditions studied: High Blood Pressure
In brief
Cerebrovascular diseases (CVD) and neurodegenerative diseases (NDD) are both leading causes of death in the United States. Epidemiological data have shown that increased prevalence of hypertension is related to these outcomes. However, despite the strong association of poor brain health outcomes in patients with hypertension (HTN), the understanding of cerebral blood flow (CBF) regulation and treatment options for HTN remain limited. Acupuncture treatment (AT), which is considered a promising complementary and integrative modality, has been known to reduce blood pressure and improve endothelial function in HTN. However, very few studies have investigated AT's effect on cerebrovascular function and the possible neuroprotective properties directly via regulating HTN. Exercise is used as a stimulus that increases the brain's metabolism and requires cerebrovascular responses (vasodilation) to meet the new metabolism. Therefore, the specific aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that an antihypertensive acupuncture treatment can acutely improve cerebrovascular responses in hypertensive humans during moderate exercise.
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT04346511
- Run by
- University of Oklahoma
- People needed
- 0
- Starts
- 2020-05-09
- Expected to finish
- 2022-12-05
- Last updated by the study team
- 2023-11-30
Who can join
Age: 18 and older, up to 65. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.
You may qualify if…
- Subjects will include healthy controls (CON) and Hypertension (HTN) patients between 18-65 years of age. Female participants if premenopausal will be studied in the early follicular phase of their cycle to minimize vascular effects of circulating hormones.
- HTN:
- Stage 1 hypertensive, Systolic BP (SBP) ≥ 130 mmHg and/or Diastolic BP (DBP) > 80 mmHg, and/or diagnosis of HTN, with BMI and physical activity levels ≈ CON
- If they are on anti-hypertensive medication, the dose, type, and frequency of use will be recorded.
- HTN with an SBP > 139 mmHg must have a medical doctor's permission to participate
- CON: will be age, BMI, menstrual status for females, and physical activity matched to HTN. They must be:
- Normotensive
- Free of cardiovascular comorbidities.
You may not qualify if…
- Diabetes
- Coronary artery disease
- Stroke
- Heart attack
- Sleep apnea
- Tobacco use
- Asthma
- Pregnancy
- Currently receiving antihypertensive acupuncture treatment
- conditions where acupuncture might not be safe, such as metal allergy or needle-phobia. If a subject experiences severe acupuncture-associated response, it will be subject to early termination of the study.
Where it is running
- Department of Health and Exercise Science — Norman, Oklahoma, United States
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
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