- Acupuncture enhances antidepressant drug therapy. Researchers discovered that acupuncture combined with paroxetine (Paxil, Sereupin, Aropax) is more effective than paroxetine alone. They showed that acupuncture accelerates clinical responses to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a class of drugs used for the treatment of major depressive disorder. Further, the researchers concluded that acupuncture prevents the aggravation of depression.
In this study they divided 160 randomly assigned patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) into three groups. The first group received only paroxetine. The second group received paroxetine with manual acupuncture and the third group received paroxetine with electroacupuncture. The groups receiving acupuncture and electroacupuncture with paroxetine showed significantly greater improvements than the drug only group. There was no increase in adverse reactions due to acupuncture or electroacupuncture. A four-week follow-up showed that electroacupuncture demonstrated significantly greater improvements in the recovery from depression than the other groups. 81
- Acupuncture and Depression. In a randomised controlled trial, 755 patients with depression were recruited from 27 primary care practices in the North of England. Patients were randomised to one of three groups -acupuncture (302), counselling (302), and usual care alone (151). The primary outcome was the difference in mean Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) scores at 3 months with secondary analyses over 12 months follow-up. Analysis was by intention-to-treat. PHQ-9 data were available for 614 patients at 3 months and 572 patients at 12 months. Patients attended a mean of ten sessions for acupuncture and nine sessions for counselling. Compared to usual care, there was a statistically significant reduction in mean PHQ-9 depression scores at 3 months for acupuncture and counselling, and over 12 months for acupuncture and counselling. Differences between acupuncture and counselling were not significant. In terms of limitations, the trial was not designed to separate out specific from non-specific effects. No serious treatment-related adverse events were reported.
In this randomised controlled trial of acupuncture and counselling for patients presenting with depression, after having consulted their general practitioner in primary care, both interventions were associated with significantly reduced depression at 3 months when compared to usual care alone. 82
- Acupuncture aids in the treatment of depression during pregnancy. A total of 150 pregnant women who met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition) criteria for major depressive disorder were randomized to receive either acupuncture specific for depression or one of two active controls: control acupuncture or massage. Treatments lasted 8 weeks (12 sessions). Fifty-two women were randomized to acupuncture specific for depression, 49 to control acupuncture, and 49 to massage. Women who received acupuncture specific for depression experienced a greater rate of decrease in symptom severity compared with the combined controls or control acupuncture alone. They also had significantly greater response rate (63.0%) than the combined controls (44.3%) and control acupuncture alone (37.5%). Symptom reduction and response rates did not differ significantly between controls (control acupuncture, 37.5%; massage, 50.0%). CONCLUSION: The short acupuncture protocol demonstrated symptom reduction and a response rate comparable to those observed in standard depression treatments (pharmaceuticals) of similar length and could be a viable treatment option for depression during pregnancy, or for depression in the general population. The potential risk to the fetus associated with pharmaceuticals can be avoided using natural therapies such as acupuncture.25
