Efficacy of Acupuncture in Patients Post-Covid Brain Fog

China Medical University Hospital40 enrolled

Overview

After being infected with Covid-19, many people developed to Brain fog. The treatment strategy now is based on the presumed pathological phenomenon and the physician's clinical experience. Acupuncture has been used to improve cognitive dysfunction caused by central nervous system diseases for many years. A randomized rater-blinded controlled study is proposed to see the efficacy of acupuncture for brain fog.

After being infected with Covid-19, many people develop cognitive dysfunction, including deficits in attention, executive ability, language, processing speed, and memory. These symptoms are collectively known as Brain fog or Covid fog. The pathological mechanism of the cognitive deficit is inconclusive. Therefore, the treatment strategy is based on the presumed pathological phenomenon and the physician's clinical experience. Acupuncture has been used to improve cognitive dysfunction caused by central nervous system diseases for many years. This study aims to evaluate the medium and long-term clinical efficacy of acupuncture in patients with post-Covid related Mild cognitive impairment (MCI). A randomized rater-blinded controlled study is proposed. Eligible patients were over 18 years old and \<65 years old. These patients were diagnosed with Covid-19 more than 12 weeks earlier and developed mild cognitive impairment (MCI) after the diagnosis of Covid-19. Divided into the acupuncture group and the sham acupuncture group for an 8-week course of treatment, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the quality of life assessment scale The 5-level EQ(EuroQol Group)- five dimensions version(EQ-5D-5L) and The Stroop Color and Word Test evaluates the degree of cognitive impairment and the impact of cognitive impairment on quality of life and attention.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Brain Fog

Interventions

AcupunctureOTHER

Acupuncture is performed using acupuncture points recorded in traditional Chinese medicine books as helpful for cognitive impairment.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 65 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Have been tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2) or had serum antibody positivity more than 12 weeks before. 2. Present cognitive impairment after been diagnosed as Covid-19 3. Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) score of 1 4. Normal activities of daily living score (ADL) 5. (Mini-Mental State Examination) MMSE score of 24-28 6. Age of 18-65 years 7. Signed informed consent Exclusion Criteria: 1. Diagnosed with any type of dementia. 2. A history of acute or chronic cerebrovascular disease, encephalitis, Parkinson's disease, Leukoencephalopathy, and other central nervous system diseases 3. A history of hypothyroidism, vitamin B12 deficiency, depression, syphilis, and other diseases that may affect cognitive decline. 4. Severe hearing and visual impairment, inability to complete neuropsychological tests 5. Impaired liver and kidney function and hematopoietic system disorders

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

cognitive function

Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) is used to assess include orientation, memory, calculation ability and attention, information registration, operational ability, language comprehension, spatial concepts.

Time frame: The measurement is assessed before the first treatment, and recheck on 4th,8th week and 4 weeks after finishing the course of treatment.

Secondary Outcomes

Concentration difficulty

The Stroop Color and Word Test (SCWT) was chosen to evaluate the changes in attention.

Time frame: The measurement is assessed before the first treatment, and recheck on 4th,8th week and 4 weeks after finishing the course of treatment.

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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