Essential Oils for Urinary Symptoms in Multiple Sclerosis Patients (AROMA-MS)

May 16, 2026 updated by: Saida Hanane Zitouni-Nourine, University of Oran 1

Efficacy and Safety of Essential Oil Aromatherapy on Neurogenic Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis: A Randomized Single-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if essential oil aromatherapy works to improve urinary symptoms in adults with multiple sclerosis. It will also learn about the safety of essential oil use in this population.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • Does essential oil aromatherapy reduce urinary urgency, frequency, and incontinence episodes in participants with multiple sclerosis?
  • What medical problems do participants have when using essential oil aromatherapy?

Researchers will compare essential oil aromatherapy to a placebo (a look-alike neutral oil with no therapeutic properties) to see if essential oil aromatherapy works to improve urinary symptoms in multiple sclerosis patients.

Participants will:

  • Use essential oil aromatherapy or a placebo oil every day for 6 weeks
  • Complete a urinary symptom scales to record the frequency, urgency, and any leakage episodes each day
  • Fill out quality of life questionnaires at the beginning and end of the study

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

60

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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 Locations

  • Algeria
      • Oran, Algeria
        • Zitouni-Nourine Saida Hanane
    • Oran Province
      • Oran, Oran Province, Algeria, 31000
        • Aboubakr abdelmadjid
        • Contact:
          • Aboubakr Abdelmadjid, Professor
          • Phone Number: (+213) 041 70 50 92
          • Email: contact@ehuoran.dz

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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Confirmed diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis (any form)
  • Documented lower urinary tract symptoms defined by an Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS) ≥ 3 at screening
  • Age between 18 and 65 years
  • Willing and able to provide written informed consent
  • Capable of performing daily topical self-application of the study oil, or having a caregiver available to assist throughout the study period

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Active urinary tract infection confirmed by urine culture at screening
  • Pre-existing urological condition unrelated to Multiple Sclerosis (e.g., bladder cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia, or interstitial cystitis)
  • Known allergy or hypersensitivity to essential oils, apricot kernel oil, lavender, or rosemary
  • Active skin lesions, wounds, or dermatological conditions on the lower abdomen at the intended site of application
  • Pregnancy, breastfeeding, or planning to become pregnant during the study period
  • Significant cognitive impairment preventing understanding of study procedures or completion of questionnaires
  • Current use of an indwelling urinary catheter or practice of intermittent self-catheterization

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: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Essential Oil Aromatherapy Group
Other: Essential Oil Blend (Lavender, Rosemary)
This intervention consists of a standardized topical blend of Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) at 3% and Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) at 2%, diluted in apricot kernel oil as a carrier. The blend was formulated to target neurogenic lower urinary tract symptoms in patients with multiple sclerosis, based on the antispasmodic properties of Lavender and the neuromodulatory and anti-inflammatory properties of Rosemary. The essential oils used are batch-controlled for chemical purity and concentration. The blend is applied topically via gentle circular massage on the lower abdomen, for a total duration of 6 consecutive weeks. This specific combination, route of administration, and target population distinguish this intervention from other aromatherapy studies that have used single oils, inhalation methods, or non-neurological populations.
Placebo Comparator: Placebo Oil Group
Other: Neutral Carrier Oil (Apricot Kernel Oil)
This intervention consists of pure Apricot Kernel oil, used as an inert placebo comparator. The placebo oil contains no active essential oils or therapeutic compounds. It is identical to the experimental intervention in terms of appearance, color, viscosity, volume, packaging, and method of application, ensuring effective masking of participants and outcome assessors. The placebo oil is applied topically via gentle circular massage on the lower abdomen, for a total duration of 6 consecutive weeks, mirroring exactly the administration protocol of the experimental arm.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS)
Time Frame: Baseline, and Week 6

Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS) (Overactive Bladder Symptom Score) Scale range: minimum 0 - maximum 15. Higher scores indicate a worse outcome (greater severity of overactive bladder symptoms).

[Time Frame: Baseline and Week 6]
Baseline, and Week 6
Qualiveen questionnaire
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 6

Qualiveen - Urinary Disorder-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (Qualiveen, Domain 1: "Bother with Limitations") Scale range: minimum 0 - maximum 4 per item (9 items, total domain score = sum of items ÷ 9).

Higher scores indicate a worse outcome (greater bother related to urinary problems).

[Time Frame: Baseline and Week 6]
Baseline and Week 6

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Oran 1

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)

September 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

March 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 4, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 16, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 20, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 20, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 16, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • UO1-HE-SEP-URO-2025-001

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.

Clinical Trials on Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Clinical Trials on Essential Oil Blend (Lavender, Rosemary)

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Guatemala

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe