Can needle therapy boost brain health in seniors with memory worries and depression?
NCT ID NCT07350226
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether electroacupuncture (a type of acupuncture with mild electrical pulses) can improve memory and mood in adults aged 60-80 who have subjective cognitive decline (worries about memory) and depression. Eighty-six participants will receive either real or sham electroacupuncture for 8 weeks, and their cognitive function, depression scores, and brain scans will be compared. The goal is to see if this therapy can help ease symptoms and understand how it might affect brain circuits linked to memory and emotion.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- electroacupuncture (device-based intervention using disposable acupuncture needles and electrical stimulation)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a non-drug option to ease memory complaints and depressive symptoms in older adults.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial (86 participants) with no blinding guarantee, and results may not apply to everyone. The sham control may still produce some effect, making real benefits hard to prove.
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 86 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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Jul 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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60 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: * Age 60-80 years, right-handed * Meets the diagnostic criteria for Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD) * Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15) score ≥5 * Clear consciousness, cooperative during examination, with adequate auditory comprehension * Patient and family agree to complete assessments and have provided informed consent with signed documentation Exclusion Criteria: * Received other anti-dementia or antidepressant therapy within the past 2 weeks, or currently participating in other clinical trials * Experienced acute cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, or transient ischemic symptoms within the past 6 months, or presence of localized old encephalomalacia foci * History of positive neuropsychiatric disorders and major trauma, including dementia, depression, epilepsy, etc. * Suffering from other severe comorbidities (aphasia, diabetic ketoacidosis, hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state, diabetic lower limb vascular disease, moderate to severe edema of lower limbs, lower limb venous thrombosis, arteriosclerosis obliterans of lower limbs, peripheral neuropathy, spinal cord lesions, traumatic brain injury, intracranial infection, brain tumors, etc.) or secondary diseases (e.g., heart, liver, or renal failure, etc.) * Infection at the acupuncture site and/or intolerance to acupuncture therapy * Contraindications to MRI examination (claustrophobia, surgically implanted metal devices, cochlear implants, implanted pulse generators, etc.)
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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The Affiliated Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School
Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210008, China
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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