Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Sep 18, 2025 7 hours, 28 minutes ago
Medical News: Understanding the Challenge of Long COVID
Since the start of the pandemic, millions worldwide have continued to suffer from long COVID, a condition where symptoms last months or even years after infection. Many of these patients experience brain fog, memory loss, poor sleep, fatigue, and depression, which greatly reduce quality of life. Doctors have been struggling to find safe and effective treatments. While medications and therapies exist, they often have limited benefits or come with side effects. This
Medical News report highlights a new clinical trial exploring electroacupuncture, a modern form of traditional acupuncture, as a potential solution.
Electroacupuncture Trial Brings New Hope for Long COVID Brain and Mood Problems
The Aim of the Study
Researchers from the School of Chinese Medicine at Hong Kong Baptist University, the School of Nursing at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, Chung Chi College of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, the School of Chinese Medicine at The University of Hong Kong, and the School of Biological Sciences at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have launched a rigorous study. Their goal is to test if electroacupuncture can truly help long COVID patients who continue to struggle with neuropsychiatric issues.
How the Trial Works
The study involves 150 participants with long COVID. They will be randomly divided into two groups. One group will receive real electroacupuncture, while the other will get a sham version designed to mimic the experience without providing actual stimulation. Each patient will undergo 32 sessions over a 16-week period, followed by two months of monitoring.
The main outcomes being studied include improvements in memory and thinking skills measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and reductions in depression based on the Chinese Beck Depression Inventory (CBDI). Secondary outcomes include sleep quality, fatigue levels, and overall health scores. This detailed approach ensures researchers can capture changes across multiple aspects of daily life.
Why Electroacupuncture
Acupuncture has been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries to treat issues like depression, anxiety, fatigue, and insomnia. Adding mild electrical stimulation to the needles may boost its effects on brain and nervous system function. The trial uses specific acupuncture points on the head, legs, and feet—such as Baihui (GV20), Sishencong (EX-HN1), and Zusanli (ST36)—which are thought to regulate brain activity, balance the body’s systems, and improve overall well-being.
Safety and Monitoring
To ensure safety, patients will be closely monitored throughout the trial. A Data and Safety Monitoring Board will review progress and address any adverse effects. Blinding methods, meaning patients and assessors will not know who is receiving real or sham treatment, are being used to ensure
unbiased results.
What This Could Mean
If successful, this study could open the door to a safe, non-drug therapy for millions living with the lingering effects of COVID-19. It would also strengthen the role of acupuncture in modern healthcare by showing its benefits through high-quality clinical evidence.
Conclusion
Long COVID continues to impact people globally, leaving many desperate for effective treatments. This trial is particularly important because it combines traditional healing knowledge with modern scientific methods. Should the results show clear improvements in memory, mood, sleep, and energy, electroacupuncture could become a major breakthrough in long COVID care.
While challenges such as patient adherence and the limits of a single-center study exist, the design ensures strong and reliable data. Ultimately, this work may help bring relief to countless patients and offer new directions in the integration of traditional and modern medicine.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal:
Frontiers in Medicine
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2025.1620288/full
For the latest on Long COVID, keep on logging to Thailand
Medical News.
Read Also:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/anti-hiv-drug-shows-strong-potential-against-covid-and-long-covid
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/long-covid-may-trigger-lasting-kidney-damage-due-to-persistent-inflammation-and-fibrosis
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/mitochondrial-gene-damage-in-immune-cells-linked-to-long-covid
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