Ankylosing SpondylitisNCT05792358
Wet Cupping Therapy in Ankylosing Spondylitis
A study testing wet cupping therapy in people with Ankylosing Spondylitis, run by Karabuk University at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye).
Trial summary
This study evaluates the efficacy of wet cupping therapy in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.Wet cupping therapy will be applied to half of the patients plus routine pharmaceutical treatment while the other half will receive only pharmaceutics Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 65 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Ankylosing Spondylitis
- What is being tested?
- wet cupping therapy
- Type of treatment
- Surgery or procedure
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 109 participants
- Where
- 1 siteTurkey (Türkiye)
- Study dates
- 1 Jun 2024to 30 Oct 2025
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 65 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Age between 18-65 years
- Confirmed diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) according to the modified New York criteria or the ASAS classification criteria for axial spondyloarthritis
- Active disease at enrolment, confirmed by a PM\&R specialist
- Written informed consent and compliance with the study protocol
Who cannot join
- Having received WCT within the previous 3 months
- Contraindications to WCT (hemoglobin <9.5 g/dL, known bleeding or coagulation disorders, anticoagulant use or antiplatelet therapy other than aspirin <100 mg, INR >1.5, etc.)
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding
- Severe uncontrolled comorbidities (e.g., advanced cardiovascular disease, uncontrolled diabetes, active malignancy, severe psychiatric illness)
- Any change in AS medication during the study period
- Failure to complete either baseline or follow-up visits
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: Wet Cupping Therapy in Ankylosing Spondylitis: a Multicenter Quasi- Randomised Controlled Trial
This study evaluates the efficacy of wet cupping therapy in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.Wet cupping therapy will be applied to half of the patients plus routine pharmaceutical treatment while the other half will receive only pharmaceutics
Read the detailed description
In addition to the medical treatment, WCT will be applied once every 28 days , 3 times (Day 0, 28, 56) to the intervention group whereas the control group will not receive any intervention. The BASFI, BASDAI, CRP, FFD, VAS and Modified Schober (MSI) tests will be applied to both groups at 0 and 3 months.
- Conditions
- Ankylosing Spondylitis
- Being tested
- wet cupping therapy
- Keywords
- Ankylosing Spondylitis, Wet cupping therapy, Basfi, Basdai, Vas
- Medical subject headings
- Spondylitis, Ankylosing
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
wet cupping therapyProcedure or surgery
wet cupping therapy will be applied to participants in this arm for three sessions once a month
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Wet cupping arm | Experimental | This arm is the interventiom group and will receive three consecutive sessions of wet cupping therapy once a month. Receives: Procedure: wet cupping therapy |
| Control arm | No intervention | This arm is the control group and will not receive any intervention other than the routine medications |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
BASDAI
Change in the scores of The Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index
Measured: At 0 and 9th weeks
Secondary outcomes (5)
Schober
Change in the scores of Modified Schober Test
Measured: At 0 and 9th weeks
BASFI
Change in the scores of The Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index
Measured: At 0 and 9th weeks
VAS
Change in the scores of Visual Analogue Scale
Measured: At 0 and 9th weeks
C Reactive Protein (CRP)
Changes in the values of CRP
Measured: At 0 and 9th weeks
fingertip-to-floor distance (FFD),
Changes in the values of fingertip-to-floor distance (FFD),
Measured: 0 th and 9 th weeks
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted31 Mar 2023
- Study start1 Jun 2024
- Primary completion1 Oct 2025
- Study completion30 Oct 2025
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Ankylosing SpondylitisStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 109 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Karabuk University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, SULEYMAN ERSOY, Karabuk University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05792358
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- SBU177
- Status last verified
- Sep 2026
- First submitted
- 7 Mar 2023
- Last updated
- 21 Sep 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 21 Sep 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Wet Cupping Therapy in Ankylosing Spondylitis: a Multicenter Quasi- Randomised Controlled Trial
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05792358
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- SBU177
- Conditions
- Ankylosing Spondylitis
- Keywords
- Ankylosing Spondylitis, Wet cupping therapy, Basfi, Basdai, Vas
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 109 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Karabuk UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 1 Jun 2024 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 1 Oct 2025 (actual)
- Study completion
- 30 Oct 2025 (actual)
- First posted
- 31 Mar 2023 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This study evaluates the efficacy of wet cupping therapy in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.Wet cupping therapy will be applied to half of the patients plus routine pharmaceutical treatment while the other half will receive only pharmaceutics
Detailed description
In addition to the medical treatment, WCT will be applied once every 28 days , 3 times (Day 0, 28, 56) to the intervention group whereas the control group will not receive any intervention. The BASFI, BASDAI, CRP, FFD, VAS and Modified Schober (MSI) tests will be applied to both groups at 0 and 3 months.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Wet cupping arm | Experimental | Procedure: wet cupping therapyThis arm is the interventiom group and will receive three consecutive sessions of wet cupping therapy once a month. |
| Control arm | No intervention | –This arm is the control group and will not receive any intervention other than the routine medications |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 65 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Age between 18-65 years
- Confirmed diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) according to the modified New York criteria or the ASAS classification criteria for axial spondyloarthritis
- Active disease at enrolment, confirmed by a PM\&R specialist
- Written informed consent and compliance with the study protocol
Key exclusion criteria (6 listed)
- Having received WCT within the previous 3 months
- Contraindications to WCT (hemoglobin <9.5 g/dL, known bleeding or coagulation disorders, anticoagulant use or antiplatelet therapy other than aspirin <100 mg, INR >1.5, etc.)
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding
- Severe uncontrolled comorbidities (e.g., advanced cardiovascular disease, uncontrolled diabetes, active malignancy, severe psychiatric illness)
- Any change in AS medication during the study period
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| wet cupping therapywet cupping therapy will be applied to participants in this arm for three sessions once a month | Procedure or surgery | Wet cupping arm |
Primary outcome
BASDAI
Time frame: At 0 and 9th weeks
Change in the scores of The Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index
5 secondary outcomes
Schober
Time frame: At 0 and 9th weeks
BASFI
Time frame: At 0 and 9th weeks
VAS
Time frame: At 0 and 9th weeks
C Reactive Protein (CRP)
Time frame: At 0 and 9th weeks
fingertip-to-floor distance (FFD),
Time frame: 0 th and 9 th weeks
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 21 Sep 2026.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing wet cupping therapy in people with Ankylosing Spondylitis, run by Karabuk University at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye).
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 6 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 21 Sep 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye). Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
BASDAI (time frame: At 0 and 9th weeks). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 21 Sep 2026.