Effect of Metformin Iontophoresis on Knee Osteoarthritis in Postmenopausal Women

February 1, 2026 updated by: Eman Said Sawan, Badr University

Effect of Metformin Iontophoresis Combined With Physical Therapy Rehabilitation on Knee Osteoarthritis in Postmenopausal Women: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

This study is designed as a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial with two parallel groups. All participants will receive a standardized physical therapy rehabilitation program. Participants will be randomly allocated into either a study group receiving metformin iontophoresis or a control group receiving placebo iontophoresis. Both participants and outcome assessors will be blinded to group allocation.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The study population will consist of postmenopausal women diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis. Postmenopause is defined as the absence of menstruation for at least 12 consecutive months. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the study or control group using a computer-generated randomization sequence. Allocation concealment will be ensured using sealed opaque envelopes. Both participants and outcome assessors will be blinded to the treatment allocation. The physical therapist applying iontophoresis will not be involved in outcome assessment.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
68

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • Egypt
      • Cairo, Egypt, 11829
        • Badr University in Cairo
        • Contact:

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.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • • Postmenopausal women aged 50-70 years.

    • Clinical and radiographic diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria.
    • Radiographic severity classified as Kellgren-Lawrence grade II or III.
    • Chronic knee pain for a duration of at least 3 months.
    • Pain intensity ≥4 on the Visual Analog Scale.
    • Ability to ambulate independently with or without assistive devices.
    • Ability to understand and follow instructions.
    • Willingness to participate and provide written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • • Severe knee osteoarthritis (Kellgren-Lawrence grade IV).

    • History of knee surgery or intra-articular injections within the previous 6 months.
    • Presence of inflammatory rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or gout.
    • Neurological disorders affecting lower limb function.
    • Uncontrolled metabolic, cardiovascular, or systemic diseases.
    • Current or recent use of metformin or other antidiabetic medications.
    • Skin lesions, infections, or hypersensitivity at the iontophoresis site.
    • Contraindications to electrotherapy such as pacemakers or implanted electronic devices.
    • Body mass index ≥35 kg/m².
    • Participation in another clinical trial within the last 3 months.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Metformin Iontophoresis
Drug: Metformin gel Iontophoresis
Metformin gel 2% Iontophoresis Combined with Physical Therapy Rehabilitation
Active Comparator: Iontophoresis Combined with Physical Therapy Rehabilitation
Device: Iontophoresis
Iontophoresis with neutral gel Combined with Physical Therapy Rehabilitation

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pain intensity
Time Frame: at baseline, after 6 weeks and after 12 weeks
assessed using the Visual Analog Scale.
at baseline, after 6 weeks and after 12 weeks
Functional status
Time Frame: at baseline, after 6 weeks and after 12 weeks
assessed using the WOMAC index
at baseline, after 6 weeks and after 12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Badr University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

  • 1. Bannuru RR, Osani MC, Vaysbrot EE, et al. OARSI guidelines for the non-surgical management of knee osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. 2019;27(11):1578-1589. 2. Kolasinski SL, Neogi T, Hochberg MC, et al. 2020 American College of Rheumatology guideline for the management of osteoarthritis of the hand, hip, and knee. Arthritis Care & Research. 2020;72(2):149-162. 3. Quicke JG, Foster NE, Ogollah RO, et al. Supervised exercise therapy for knee osteoarthritis: A randomized controlled trial. Ann Rheum Dis. 2022;81(3):336-343. 4. Wang Y, Hussain SM, Wluka AE, et al. Effect of exercise therapy on knee osteoarthritis: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Arthritis Res Ther. 2021;23:147. 5. Zhang W, Doherty M, Peat G, et al. EULAR evidence-based recommendations for knee osteoarthritis management. Ann Rheum Dis. 2020;79(6):685-699.

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 Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
March 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 15, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
May 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
February 1, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 1, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 9, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
February 9, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 1, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • IRB00014233-66

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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