An interventional study of Vitamin D2 capsules and Placebo Soft Capsules (Vitamin D₂-matched placebo) in Post-Stroke Cognitive Impairment (PSCI), sponsored by Suzhou Municipal Hospital of Anhui Province. Active, not recruiting at 1 site in China. Open to participants aged 40 Years to 80 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-21.
Sponsored by Suzhou Municipal Hospital of Anhui Province · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
Post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) is a prevalent and debilitating sequela of stroke, posing a significant burden on patients and healthcare systems. Emerging evidence suggests that Vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline and neuroinflammation. However, the therapeutic potential and underlying immunological mechanisms of Vitamin D supplementation in PSCI remain unclear.
This study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial designed to evaluate the efficacy of Vitamin D supplementation in improving cognitive function among patients with PSCI. The primary objective is to determine whether high-dose Vitamin D administration can significantly enhance cognitive performance compared to a placebo group. Secondary objectives include assessing the effects on serum inflammatory markers (such as IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-10) and regulatory T cells (Tregs), thereby exploring the potential immune-modulatory pathways.
Eligible participants will be randomly assigned to receive either oral Vitamin D (e.g., 5000 IU/day) or an identical placebo for a duration of [e.g., 6 months]. Cognitive function will be assessed using standardized neuropsychological tests, including the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Blood samples will be collected at baseline and post-intervention to measure changes in immune-related biomarkers.
The findings of this trial will provide critical evidence regarding the role of Vitamin D as a potential adjunctive therapy for PSCI and elucidate the connection between vitamin D status and post-stroke immune regulation.
Background and Rationale:
Post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) is a prevalent complication that severely impacts patient rehabilitation and quality of life. Recent studies suggest that Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in stroke patients and is closely associated with neuroinflammation and cognitive decline. However, high-quality clinical evidence regarding the efficacy of Vitamin D supplementation in PSCI and its underlying immunological mechanisms remains limited. This study aims to bridge this gap by providing clinical and mechanistic evidence.
Study Design and Participants:
This is a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Eligible participants are adult patients diagnosed with acute ischemic stroke complicated by cognitive impairment within 7 days of onset. Patients with severe hepatic or renal dysfunction, or those already receiving high-dose Vitamin D therapy, will be excluded.
Intervention:
Eligible participants will be randomly assigned (1:1) to either the intervention group or the control group.
Intervention Group: Will receive oral Vitamin D2 capsules (5000 IU/day) for 6 months.
Control Group: Will receive identical placebo capsules for 6 months. Both patients and investigators will be blinded to the group assignments.
Outcome Assessments:
Primary Outcome: Changes in cognitive function from baseline to 6 months, assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).
Secondary Outcomes: Changes in serum immune-inflammatory markers, including IL-6, TNF-α, IL-10, and the proportion of regulatory T cells (Tregs), measured via ELISA and flow cytometry at baseline and 6 months.
Sample Size and Statistical Analysis:
Based on a power calculation considering a 20% dropout rate, a total of 300 participants will be enrolled. All statistical analyses will be performed using SPSS software. Continuous variables will be compared using t-tests or Mann-Whitney U tests, while categorical variables will be analyzed using Chi-square tests. A p-value \< 0.05 will be considered statistically significant.
8,255 studies on the registry are indexed under Stroke; 2,056 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 300 is above the median of 49 across 6,024 interventional studies indexed under Stroke.
Browse Stroke studies →Suzhou Municipal Hospital of Anhui Province is the lead sponsor of 6 studies on the registry; 1 is open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Short tests of memory and thinking, each scored out of 30. Lower scores suggest more difficulty; criteria give a range, either to include people with memory problems or to leave them out.
A “mini-stroke”: temporary stroke-like symptoms caused by reduced blood flow to part of the brain, spinal cord or eye, without signs of a new stroke on a scan.
Stroke symptoms need emergency care at once, even if they go away.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.
Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.
The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.
“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
The study doctor’s estimate of how long someone is likely to live. Criteria use it so that people can stay in the study long enough for it to answer its question.
An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.
MMSE and MoCA
Short tests of memory and thinking, each scored out of 30. Lower scores suggest more difficulty; criteria give a range, either to include people with memory problems or to leave them out.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
TIA (transient ischaemic attack)
A “mini-stroke”: temporary stroke-like symptoms caused by reduced blood flow to part of the brain, spinal cord or eye, without signs of a new stroke on a scan.
Stroke symptoms need emergency care at once, even if they go away.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
ALT and AST (liver enzymes)
Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.
Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
ULN (upper limit of normal)
The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.
“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
GFR and eGFR (kidney filtering)
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Life expectancy
The study doctor’s estimate of how long someone is likely to live. Criteria use it so that people can stay in the study long enough for it to answer its question.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Hypersensitivity
An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Intervention Group: Participants will receive oral Vitamin D2 (Ergocalciferol) soft capsules at a dosage of 5,000 IU once daily for a period of 6 months.
Dietary Supplement: Vitamin D2 capsules
Placebo Group: Participants will receive oral placebo soft capsules that are identical in appearance, packaging, and taste to the Vitamin D2 capsules. The placebo will be administered once daily for a period of 6 months.
Dietary Supplement: Placebo Soft Capsules (Vitamin D₂-matched placebo)
Participants in the intervention group will receive oral soft capsules containing Vitamin D₂ (Ergocalciferol) 5000 IU, taken once every 5 days (one capsule per administration) for a period of 6 months. The active capsules are identical in appearance, packaging, and taste to the placebo capsules to maintain blinding.
Participants in the placebo group will receive oral soft capsules that are identical in appearance, color, size, taste, and packaging to the active Vitamin D₂ (5000 IU) capsules. The placebo capsules contain no active Vitamin D₂ ingredient and are filled with the same excipient matrix (e.g., refined vegetable oil / medium-chain triglycerides) as the active capsules, without added calcium or other active substances that could affect outcomes. Administration: One capsule is taken orally once every 5 days (same dosing frequency as the intervention group). Duration: The intervention period lasts 6 months (approximately 36 total doses, aligned with the active group on the same calendar schedule). Blinding: The placebo capsules are identical in labeling, packaging, odor, and taste to the active capsules. A third-party will handle packaging and coding to maintain double-blinding among researchers, participants, and outcome assessors.
Change in Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) Score
The change in Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score from baseline to 6 months post-randomization.
Time frame: 6 months
Change in Regulatory T Cells (Tregs) Proportion
The change in the proportion of peripheral blood regulatory T cells (Tregs) from baseline to 6 months post-randomization, assessed via flow cytometry.
Time frame: 6 months
Change in Serum Inflammatory Markers
The change in serum levels of inflammatory markers, including Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-α), and Interleukin-10 (IL-10), from baseline to 6 months post-randomization.
Time frame: 6 months
Change in Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Level
The change in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D \[25(OH)D\] concentration from baseline to 6 months post-randomization.
Time frame: 6 months
Plan to share: No — No sharing is planned due to patient privacy and ethical committee restrictions.
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Started Jan 2026 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Feb 2028, 25 months after the start.
Of 3,108 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Stroke, half reached primary completion within 23 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 10 and three quarters within 46. This study's planned 25 months is close to that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 3,252 studies reached it within 23 months; a quarter within 10 and three quarters within 46.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is active, not recruiting, as verified in Aug 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Studies of the drug tested here: Ergocalciferols
Suzhou Municipal Hospital of Anhui Province