- ICH GCP
- US Clinical Trials Registry
- Clinical Trial NCT03562325
ACT for ME/CFS - an Open Case Trial
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy for ME/CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) - an Open Case Trial
Study Overview
Status
Conditions
Intervention / Treatment
Detailed Description
Background Medical strategies alone appear insufficient to increase functioning and quality of life in ME/CFS. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the only treatment approach with preliminary evidence of efficacy for improving functioning and quality of life. However, effect sizes are generally modest.
Behavior medicine treatment approaches based on Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) have gained increasing attention and research support within clinical trials for similar diagnoses (e.g. chronic pain, Fibromyalgia). Results from these areas illustrate the utility of this approach for individuals with somatic symptomatology. To date, the efficacy of ACT has not been evaluated for ME/CFS.
Purpose The aims of this pilot study are to explore the utility of ACT and to evaluate the feasibility of the treatment model for patients with ME/CFS.
Method Treatment program: 13 weekly to bi-weekly individual ACT sessions with a psychologist (10) and a physician (3) respectively.
An open trial design is used, with assessments at pre-, mid- and post-treatment as well as at 3 and 6 months follow-up. Further, yearly follow-ups until 5-year follow-up are planned.
Measures: History data, illness factors, psychological factors, functioning and quality of life.
Patients: Consecutively recruited via referrals to a specialist treatment centre (n=40). Once patients have been found eligible and expressed interest in study participation they will be assessed by a psychologist and by a physician, via semi-structured interviews to confirm eligibility and to ensure that the patient meet the study criteria. Informed consent is obtained from all participants prior to the assessment.
Statistical analysis: Evaluations of treatment effects are primarily based on intent-to-treat analyses. The statistical approach will primarily be based on linear multilevel modeling (LMM), which takes into account dependencies between repeated measures and differences between patients in pre-treatment status and treatment response (i.e. random effects modeling) and also provide means of handling missing data.
Study Type
Enrollment (Actual)
Phase
- Not Applicable
Contacts and Locations
Study Locations
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Stockholm, Sweden, 171 77
- Karolinska Institutet
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Participation Criteria
Eligibility Criteria
Ages Eligible for Study
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Genders Eligible for Study
Description
Inclusion Criteria: Subjects were included if
- Referred to a specialist behavior medicine treatment unit for ME/CFS
- 18 years of age or older
- Fulfilling CDC ME/CFS diagnostic criteria AND 2003 clinical case definition ME/CFS diagnostic criteria
- Treatment resistent symptomatology
- Evident ME/CFS-related disability (assessed with self-report questionnaires and clinical interviews)
- Stabile medication during the last 2 months with no planned changes during active study treatment
Exclusion Criteria: Subjects were excluded if:
- psychiatric or somatic comorbidity was prevalent and assessed as more primary than ME/CFS illness;
- non-adherence during assessment phase;
- they did not speak Swedish;
- ongoing or recently (less than six months) completed CBT-oriented treatment;
- other treatment than standard care (pharmacological, psychological or otherwise) planned in the coming six months
Study Plan
How is the study designed?
Design Details
- Primary Purpose: Treatment
- Allocation: N/A
- Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
- Masking: None (Open Label)
Arms and Interventions
Participant Group / Arm |
Intervention / Treatment |
---|---|
Other: ACT
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
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The main target in ACT for ME/CFS (as for Fibromyalgia and Chronic pain in previous studies by our group) is to promote a shift of perspective in life from symptom reduction (when it does not work) to a valued life.
As such it entails acceptance and exposure to discomfort, in order to lessen the effects of negative experiences (symptoms, emotions, thoughts) on behaviours in everyday life.
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What is the study measuring?
Primary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
---|---|---|
ME/CFS Disability Index (changes between assessments)
Time Frame: Baseline to 6-month follow-up
|
Self-reported ME/CFS-related disability in 7 life domains (domestic; recreational activities; social activities; occupational; sexual life; daily activities; life-sustaining activities).
Each item is scored 0-10 (0= no disability, 10=total disability).
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Baseline to 6-month follow-up
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Psychological Inflexibility in Fatigue Scale (PIFS) (changes between assessments)
Time Frame: Baseline to 6-month follow-up
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Self-rated psychological inflexibility related to fatigue
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Baseline to 6-month follow-up
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Secondary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
---|---|---|
ME/CFS Symptoms (changes between assessments)
Time Frame: Baseline to 6-month follow-up
|
Self-reported prevalence and intensity (0-4) of ME/CFS symptoms based on the 2003 clinical case definition (0=symptom absence, 4=unbearable).
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Baseline to 6-month follow-up
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Collaborators and Investigators
Sponsor
Investigators
- Study Director: Rikard Wicksell, PhD, Director of Functional Area Medical Psychology, Karolinska Univ Hospital, assoc professor and head of research group Behavior Medcine, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska Institutet
Study record dates
Study Major Dates
Study Start (Actual)
Primary Completion (Actual)
Study Completion (Actual)
Study Registration Dates
First Submitted
First Submitted That Met QC Criteria
First Posted (Actual)
Study Record Updates
Last Update Posted (Actual)
Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria
Last Verified
More Information
Terms related to this study
Additional Relevant MeSH Terms
Other Study ID Numbers
- 2015/370-31/4
Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)
Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?
Drug and device information, study documents
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product
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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