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NCT00010478 · ClinicalTrials.gov registry record · NA
Acupuncture and Hypertension
A NA study, sponsored by National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH).
- Completed
- Registry status
- NA
- Development phase
NCT00010478: Completed NA study, sponsored by National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH).
NCT00010478 is a NA study that has completed, run by National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). According to ClinicalTrials.gov, the official US trial registry.
The verdict
NCT00010478, a NA study, has completed, sponsored by National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH).
- COMPLETED
- Registry status
- NA
- Development phase
Study Summary
Although traditional Chinese medicine advocates the use of acupuncture not only to induce analgesia but also to treat essential hypertension, acupuncture's postulated antihypertensive efficacy in humans has not been subjected to rigorous Western scientific testing. Before advocating acupuncture as an effective complementary/alternative medicine strategy for essential hypertension, it is necessary to demonstrate that the beneficial effects of acupuncture are scientifically robust, long-lasting, and explicable in terms of modern scientific mechanisms. In spontaneously hypertensive rats, acupuncture-like electrical stimulation of thinly myelinated (Group III) somatic afferents activates central endorphin (naloxone-sensitive) pathways that elicit long-lasting decreases in sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) and blood pressure. The ability to record SNA with microelectrodes in conscious humans provides a new opportunity to test this novel mechanistic hypothesis in patients undergoing electroacupuncture, a modification of the ancient technique that provides a quantifiable and reproducible stimulus to human skeletal muscle afferents. Using a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled design, we will test the following major hypotheses: Electroacupuncture produces a long-lasting reduction in SNA, thereby providing a safe and effective complementary treatment of human hypertension. Given the enormous interest in acupuncture by our lay public, but the paucity of Western scientific data about its efficacy in cardiovascular disorders, our studies in normotensive and hypertensive humans should provide a conceptual framework for deciding whether to accept or reject the large body of Chinese (and Russian) literature advocating acupuncture as a safe and effective treatment of essential hypertension and other cardiovascular disorders (such as heart failure, and myocardial ischemia).
Interventions
- PROCEDURE Acupuncture
Trial Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Phase | NA |
What the finished NCT00010478 record still lists
NCT00010478 is an interventional study that assigns participants to a tested intervention. An enrollment target was not published in the registry record, which is common for early-stage or observational entries.
The record links to 0 conditions, and to 1 intervention - of which Acupuncture is the first listed.
NCT00010478 does not publish any study locations in the registry export this page uses.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is clinical trial NCT00010478 about?
NCT00010478 is a clinical study titled "Acupuncture and Hypertension". Although traditional Chinese medicine advocates the use of acupuncture not only to induce analgesia but also to treat essential hypertension, acupuncture's postulated antihypertensive efficacy in humans has not been subjected to rigorous Western scientific testing. Before advocating acupuncture as a...
What is the current status of trial NCT00010478?
This trial is currently completed. It is a NA study.
What interventions are being tested in trial NCT00010478?
The interventions under investigation include: Acupuncture (PROCEDURE).
Who is sponsoring clinical trial NCT00010478?
This trial is sponsored by National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), which has 203 total clinical trials registered on ClinicalTrials.gov.