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Acupuncture needles vs. sham: does it really help Alzheimer's?

NCT ID NCT05078944

Symptom relief Sponsor: Shanghai Institute of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Meridian Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed This study
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026

Summary

This study tested whether adding acupuncture to standard care can slow down memory and thinking problems in people with mild Alzheimer's disease. Researchers compared real acupuncture to a fake (sham) procedure in 160 participants to see if the effects were real or just a placebo. The goal was to find out if acupuncture offers any extra benefit for managing Alzheimer's symptoms.

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

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

160 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Jun 2022

Finished

Sep 2025

Lead sponsor

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

50 to 80 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

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

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Meets the diagnostic criteria for probable AD according to the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke/Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association (NINCDS/ADRDA) * Scored 1.0 by the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR) Global Score Exclusion Criteria: * Dementia due to other causes * Evidence of a clinically relevant or unstable psychiatric disorder * Has irritable bowel syndrome or inflammatory bowel disease * Has unstable or severe cardiovascular, hepatic, renal, respiratory, endocrinologic, neurologic diseases and other conditions that, in the investigator's opinion, could interfere with the analyses of safety and efficacy in this study * Has visual or hearing disorder, defeating completion of evaluation * Use of AD therapy (except for donepezil hydrochloride) which cannot be stopped * Use of antibiotics within 1 month prior to enrollment * Has a history of gastrointestinal surgery (except for appendicitis and hernia surgery) * Without a reliable caregiver who will accompany the participant during treatment and assessment, and monitor administration of the prescribed medications * With cardiac pacemaker or metal allergy * Once experienced electroacupuncture treatment before at any time (manual acupuncture is allowed) * Premenopausal woman

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

Alzheimer disease Alzheimer disease type 1

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Alzheimer disease 1

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Shanghai Institute of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Meridian Organization

    Shanghai, 200030, China

More trials for these conditions

Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.