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

University of Oran 1

Status

Begins enrollment in 3 months

Conditions

Urinary Urgency

Urinary Incontinence (UI)

Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (LUTS)

Neurogenic Bladder Disorder

Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Treatments

Other: Neutral Carrier Oil (Apricot Kernel Oil)

Other: Essential Oil Blend (Lavender, Rosemary)

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT07599189

UO1-HE-SEP-URO-2025-001

Details and patient eligibility

About

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

Enrollment

60 estimated patients

Sex

All

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

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