Effect of soothing-liver and nourishing-heart acupuncture on early selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor treatment onset for depressive disorder and related indicators of neuroimmunology：a randomized controlled clinical trial

• Published in: Journal of traditional Chinese medicine 2015-10, Vol.35 (5), p.507-513
• Main Authors: Liu, Yi, Feng, Hui, Mo, Yali, Gao, Jingfang, Mao, Hongjing, Song, Mingfen, Wang, Shengdong, Yin, Yan, Liu, Wenjuan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 5-羟色胺; Acupuncture Therapy; Adolescent; Adult; Depressive Disorder - blood; Depressive Disorder - drug therapy; Depressive Disorder - physiopathology; Depressive Disorder - therapy; Female; Heart - physiopathology; Humans; Interleukin-10 - blood; Interleukin-4 - blood; Interleukin-6 - blood; Liver - physiopathology; Male; Middle Aged; Serotonin - blood; Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors - administration & dosage; Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors - adverse effects; Young Adult; 临床试验; 免疫学; 抑制剂; 抑郁症; 早期选择; 治疗效果; 针刺法
• ISSN: 0255-2922

OBJECTIVE：To observe the effect of soothing-liver and nourishing-heart acupuncture on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor（SSRIs） treatment effect onset in patients with depressive disorder and related indicators of neuroimmunology.METHODS：Overall,126 patients with depressive disorder were randomly divided into a medicine and acupuncture-medicine group using a random number table.Patients were treated for 6 consecutive weeks.The two groups were evaluated by the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale（MADRS） and Side Effects Rating Scale（SERS） to assess the effect of the soothing-liver and nourishing-heart acupuncture method on early onset of SSRI treatment effect.Changes in serum 5-hydroxytryptamine（5-HT） and inflammatory cytokines before and after treatment were recorded and compared between the medicine group and the acupuncture-medicine group.RESULTS：The acupuncture-medicine group had significantly lower MADRS scores at weeks 1,2,4,and 6 after treatment compared with the medicine group（P 〈 0.01）.The acupuncture group had significantly lower SERS scores at weeks 1,2,4,and 6 after treatment compared with the medicine group（P 〈 0.01）.At 6 weeks after treatment,serum 5-HT in the acupuncture-medicine group was significantly higher compared with the medicine group（P 〈0.01）.lnterleukin-6（IL-6） in the acupuncture-medicine group was significantly lower than that in the medicine group（P 〈 0.01）,whereas there was no significant difference in IL-1（3 between the groups（P 〉 0.05）.Anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-4 and IL-10 were significantly higher in the acupuncture-medicine group compared with the medicine group（P 〈 0.01,P 〈 0.05,respectively）.CONCLUSION：The soothing-liver and nourishing-heart acupuncture method can effectively accelerate the onset of SSRI effects when treating depressive disorder and can significantly reduce the adverse reactions of SSRIs.Moreover,acupuncture can enhance serum 5-HT and regulate the balance of pro-inflammatory cytokines and anti-inflammatory cytokines.