Effect of acupuncture and its influence on cerebral activity in perimenopausal insomniacs: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Perimenopausal insomnia is one of the core symptoms of the menopausal transition. Acupuncture is considered to exert a positive effect on restoring the normal sleep–wake cycle. However, there is little intuitive evidence besides evaluation using clinical effectiveness scales. We therefore designed this study, aiming to use more intuitive and reliable detection techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging before and after applying acupuncture to provide neuroimaging evidence, as well as to verify the effectiveness with other curative effect indicators. METHODS/DESIGN: This study is a randomized, assessor–statistician-blinded, positive medicine controlled trial involving 40 participants. A total of 40 eligible patients with perimenopausal insomnia will be randomly assigned to two groups in a 1:1 ratio as an intervention group using acupuncture and a control group taking estazolam. Participants in the intervention group will receive six acupuncture treatment sessions per week for 4 consecutive weeks, for a total of 24 sessions during the study. Meanwhile, the medicine control group will be prescribed estazolam 1–2 mg/day to be taken 30 minutes before sleep for 4 weeks. The primary outcome is the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Secondary outcomes are the micro-movement sensitive mattress-type sleep monitoring system, the Hamilton Depression Scale, and the Hamilton Anxiety Scale. All outcomes will be evaluated before and after treatment. The safety of interventions will be assessed at every visit. DISCUSSION: The results of this trial, which will be available in 2018, will investigate the impact of acupuncture treating perimenopausal insomnia from assessment of the sleep architecture, hormone level, and emotional-circuit neurological function, and will uncover the effective mechanism of acupuncture regulating the emotional center integrated effect. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trials Register, ChCTR-IPC-16007832. Registered on 26 January 2016. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13063-017-2072-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.