RECRUITING

Placebo Impacts Sleep and Pain Modulation in Chronic Pain

Study Overview

This clinical trial focuses on testing the efficacy of different digital interventions to promote re-engagement in cancer-related long-term follow-up care for adolescent and young adult (AYA) survivors of childhood cancer.

Description

The goal of this free-choice parallel design clinical trial is to examine the potential beneficial effects of using open-label placebo (OLP) in improving chronic pain related outcomes and sleep quality in people with temporomandibular disorders. This study will enroll a cohort of participants with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) which lasts for more than 3 months. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Will participants with TMD be more likely to take open-label placebo pills if they are introduced to the effects of placebo (e.g., going through an expectation management session)? 2. Will taking open-label placebo plus expectation management improve chronic pain related outcomes, such as chronic pain intensity, interference, levels of anxiety and depression, in the cohort of TMD? 3. Will open-label placebo plus expectation management improve sleep quality in participants suffering from TMD? To answer the above questions, participants with TMD will be randomly assigned to three groups: 1. Open-label placebo plus expectation management group, where participants will complete a 1-hour discussion session about their expectations toward open-lable placebo intervention, and then take 1 open-labe placebo pill per day for a total of 45 days. 2. Open-label placebo only group where participants will be asked to take open-label placebo pills, one pill per day, for a total of 45 days. 3. standard of care group where participants will maintain their usual care without introducing open-label placebo to them during the 45 days monitoring. Researchers will compare the chronic pain intensity, interference, mood, anxiety, and sleep quality between the open-label placebo group and the wait-list group. Daily chronic pain will be measured using visual analog scale (VAS) ranging from 0=no pain at all to 100=maximum tolerable pain. Chronic pain interference using Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) pain interference and pain behavior. Anxiety and depression will be measured using PROMIS-anxiety, and PROMIS-depression scales respectively. Finally, sleep quality will be quantified using the objective measurement Motion Watch during the 45 days intervention and monitoring. In order to have a rigorous measurement of the baseline pain and sleep fluctuation, this study will include a 7-day phenotyping period before the starting of the 45-day intervention and monitoring. During the 7-day phenotyping period, participants will record their daily chronic pain and sleep quality using polysomnography.

Official Title

The Impact of Open-label Placebo on Sleep and Pain Modulation

Quick Facts

Study Start:2025-04-21
Study Completion:2026-07-30
Study Type:Not specified
Phase:Not Applicable
Enrollment:Not specified
Status:RECRUITING

Study ID

NCT06225817

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Ages Eligible for Study:18 Years to 88 Years
Sexes Eligible for Study:ALL
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:No
Standard Ages:ADULT, OLDER_ADULT
Inclusion CriteriaExclusion Criteria
  1. * Age ( 18-88 years old)
  2. * English speaker (written and spoken)
  3. * TMD for at least 3 months
  4. * Grade Chronic Pain Scale (GCPS) ≥1
  5. * Smartphone/text messaging capability
  1. * Present or past degenerative neuromuscular disease
  2. * Cardiovascular, neurological diseases, pulmonary abnormalities, kidney disease, liver disease, history of cancer within past 3 years
  3. * Any personal (or family first degree) history of mania, schizophrenia, or other psychoses
  4. * Severe psychiatric condition (e.g. schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, autism) leading to hospitalization within the last 3 years.
  5. * Lifetime alcohol/drug dependence or alcohol/drug abuse in past 3 months
  6. * Pregnancy or breast feeding
  7. * Impaired or uncorrected hearing

Contacts and Locations

Study Contact

Yang Wang, PhD
CONTACT
4107067824
yang.wang@umaryland.edu

Study Locations (Sites)

University of Maryland Baltimore School of Nursing
Baltimore, Maryland, 21201
United States

Collaborators and Investigators

Sponsor: University of Maryland, Baltimore

Study Record Dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Registration Dates

Study Start Date2025-04-21
Study Completion Date2026-07-30

Study Record Updates

Study Start Date2025-04-21
Study Completion Date2026-07-30

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

  • Chronic Pain
  • Headache