Could acupuncture plus brain zaps boost memory after stroke? new trial launches
NCT ID NCT07208019
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether combining electroacupuncture with brain electric field therapy can improve thinking and memory in people who have cognitive impairment after a stroke. Researchers will enroll 340 participants across multiple centers in China. The goal is to develop a standardized traditional Chinese medicine treatment approach that could be widely used.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Electroacupuncture (acupuncture with electrical stimulation)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could provide a safe, non-drug treatment option to improve cognitive function and quality of life for people with post-stroke cognitive impairment.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage study without a placebo control, so results may be influenced by expectation. The therapy is complex and may not be easily standardized or widely adopted.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 340 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Oct 2025
- Expected to finish
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Mar 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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35 to 80 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion criteria * According to the Western diagnostic criteria for vascular cognitive impairment outlined in the "Chinese Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Vascular Cognitive Impairment (2024 Edition)" developed by the Vascular Cognitive Impairment Branch of the Chinese Stroke Society. * Meets the traditional Chinese medicine diagnostic criteria for vascular cognitive impairment in the "Guidelines for Traditional Chinese Medicine Diagnosis and Treatment of Vascular Mild Cognitive Impairment (2024)"; * The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score ranges from 12-24, while the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score is below 24; Having cognitive impairment but not reaching the level of severe dementia; The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score is ≤ 8 points; The Early Dementia Screening Scale (Ascertain Dementia 8, AD-8) score is less than 2 points; * Age between 35-80 years old; * Have basic communication skills, with Mandarin as the main language (communication language is sufficient), and have at least one stable caregiver; * Sign the informed consent form. Exclusion criteria * Merge serious primary chronic diseases such as heart, liver, kidney, endocrine system, and hematopoietic system, as well as severe cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases; * Skin diseases or scar constitution such as herpes and ulceration are easy to appear on the body surface, which is not suitable for acupuncture and moxibustion treatment; * Not suitable for repetitive MRI examinations, such as claustrophobia, arterial aneurysm embolization, etc; * Patients with cognitive impairment or other severe neurological or mental disorders prior to the onset of this illness, and unstable control; * Patients identified by other clinical trial personnel as unsuitable for this study; * Participated in clinical research on related diseases in the past 3 months;
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
5 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Hangzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGHangzhou, Zhejiang, 310007, China
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The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGHangzhou, Zhejiang, 310009, China
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The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University
RECRUITINGHangzhou, Zhejiang, 310053, China
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Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine
RECRUITINGHangzhou, Zhejiang, 310006, China
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Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital
RECRUITINGHangzhou, Zhejiang, 314408, China
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