Enhancing chronic migraine preventive therapy: laser acupuncture as an add-on treatment for patients with unsatisfactory pharmacological effect

Laser acupuncture for chronic migraine Participants: Chronic migraine (CM) patients with unsatisfactory pharmacological effects Intervention: Laser acupuncture (LA) as an add-on preventive therapy Comparisons: Sham treatment as a control group Outcomes: Changes in monthly migraine days (MMD) and acute headache medications usage days per month from baseline

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Phase 3

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN11208146

Enrollment

Registered

2024-01-19

Start date

2022-04-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2026-02-16

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Chronic migraine Nervous System Diseases

Interventions

This study is a single-blind randomized controlled trial, conducted from January 2022 to November 2023, aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of laser acupuncture (LA) as an add-on preventive t

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

20 Years to 100 Years

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Aged >20 years old and had CM managed pharmacologically, including preventive and/or acute migraine medications, and in addition, those who had refused preventive agents despite the recommendation of the neurologist 2. Unsatisfactory effect of current pharmacological treatments, defined by self-reporting 3. A minimum of a one-year history of migraine with or without aura

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Received another LA therapy or traditional acupuncture at baseline 2. Migraine onset after the age of 50 3. Cognitive or psychological impairment interfering with the participant’s ability to receive LA protocol and describe symptoms 4. Patients with missing data at baseline or during the follow-up period

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Changes in the number of monthly migraine days from baseline measured using a headache diary at each of the three follow-up time points (4th, 8th and 12th weeks) after randomization	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
The following secondary outcome measures were measured at each of the three follow-up time points (4th, 8th and 12th weeks): 1. The proportion of patients with a = 30% reduction in migraine days measured using a headache diary 2. Changes in the following parameters: (1) headache duration measured using a headache diary; (2) headache severity measured using a Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) and (3) headache-related disability measured using the Migraine Disability Assessment Score (MIDAS) 3. Acute headache medications usage days per month measured using a headache diary	—

Measure

Time frame

The following secondary outcome measures were measured at each of the three follow-up time points (4th, 8th and 12th weeks): 1. The proportion of patients with a = 30% reduction in migraine days measured using a headache diary 2. Changes in the following parameters: (1) headache duration measured using a headache diary; (2) headache severity measured using a Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) and (3) headache-related disability measured using the Migraine Disability Assessment Score (MIDAS) 3. Acute headache medications usage days per month measured using a headache diary

—

Countries

Taiwan

Contacts

Public ContactChi Sheng;Chi Sheng Wang;Wang

;

saintchi@vghtc.gov.tw;sam7227632@gmail.com+886933375721;+886933375721

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 19, 2026