Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine ›› 2015, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (05): 507-513.

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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

Liu Yi, Feng Hui, Mo Yali, Gao Jingfang, Mao Hongjing, Song Mingfen, Wang Shengdong, Yin Yan, Liu Wenjuan   

  1. Department of Psychiatry,Seventh People's Hospital of Hangzhou;Department of Gastroenterology,Hangzhou Red Cross Hospital;Department of Mental Health,Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine;
  • Accepted:2015-10-15 Online:2015-10-15 Published:2022-04-05

Abstract: 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),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.

Key words: Acupuncture, Soothing-liver and nourishing-heart method, Early onset, Serotonin uptake inhibitors, Depressive disorder, Serotonin, Inflammatory cytokines, Randomized controlled trial

Cite this article

Liu Yi, Feng Hui, Mo Yali, Gao Jingfang, Mao Hongjing, Song Mingfen, Wang Shengdong, Yin Yan, Liu Wenjuan. 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[J]. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2015, 35(05): 507-513.