Perioperative Transcranial Photobiomodulation and Delayed Neurocognitive Recovery in Older Patients
Key facts
- Who runs it
- Peking University First Hospital
- Where
- China1 site in 1 countryChoose a country to see its sites
- Trial code
- Status
- Recruiting
- People taking part
- 130 people, planned
- Started
- 5 Aug 2026
- Expected to end
- Jul 2027
- Type of study
- Interventional, 2 groupsOne group gets a sham (pretend) treatment, for comparison.
- Treatments tested
- Transcranial photobiomodulation therapy
- Transcranial pseudo-photobiomodulation
- Record updated
- 10 August 2026
Who can take part
- Age
- 65 years and older
- Sex
- Women and men
- Healthy volunteers
- Can take part
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 11 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- Aged 65 years or older
- Preoperative Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) <27
- Scheduled to undergo non-cardiac, non-neurosurgical surgery under general anesthesia, with an expected surgical duration >1 hour
- Planned hospital stay of at least 1 day before surgery and at least 2 days after surgery
Who cannot take part
- History of ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke within 3 months before surgery
- Communication barriers before surgery due to coma, severe dementia, or language disorders
- History of schizophrenia, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, or myasthenia gravis, or delirium before surgery
- History of brain injury, tumors, or surgery, or intracranial metal implants, or skin or soft tissue injuries on the head or face
- Other conditions deemed unsuitable for study participation
- An American Society of Anesthesiologists class ≥ IV
- Enrolled in other interventional studies
This trial has no sites in United States.
It has sites in one country. Choose a country to see its sites.
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
Delayed neurocognitive recovery is a common neurocognitive complication in older patients after surgery, especially those with preoperative neurocognitive decline. Transcranial photobiomodulation therapy is a novel neuromodulation technique using transcranial low-power light to modulate brain biological functions. This technique has been used to treat various neurological or psychiatric conditions, including ischemic stroke, traumatic brain injury, and major depression. This study is designed to explore whether using transcranial photobiomodulation therapy during the perioperative period can reduce the incidence of delayed neurocognitive recovery in older patients with pre-existing neurocognitive impairment.
The 2 groups in the trial
- Intervention GroupTreatment being tested
A transcranial photobiomodulation therapy device employing medium-intensity LED near-infrared light will be applied to the forehead of participants. Treatments will be done twice daily on the day before surgery and on the first and second days after surgery, and once on the day of surgery, with at least 8 hours between any two interventions.
Treatment: Transcranial photobiomodulation therapy
- Controll GroupSham treatment, for comparison
A transcranial photobiomodulation therapy device employing extremely low-intensity LED near-infrared light will be applied to the forehead of participants. Treatments will be done twice daily on the day before surgery and on the first and second days after surgery, and once on the day of surgery, with at least 8 hours between any two interventions.
Treatment: Transcranial pseudo-photobiomodulation
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Official title
- Impact of Perioperative Transcranial Photobiomodulation on Delayed Neurocognitive Recovery in Older Patients After Surgery: a Randomized, Double-blind, Pseudo-modulation-controlled Preliminary Clinical Trial
- Record updated
- 10 August 2026