Clinical Controlled Study on Electroacupuncture Versus Ordinary Acupuncture for Depression

Objective To study the clinical effect and specificity of electroacupuncture and traditional acupuncture in treating depression.Method A total of 144 patients with depression were randomized into a medication group of 54 cases(SSRIs),an acupuncture group of 44 cases(acupuncture plus SSRIs),and an electroacupuncture group of 46 cases(electroacupuncture plus SSRIs).The general score and each item score in the Hamilton Depression Scale(HAMD) were observed before treatment,and at the end of first-week,second-week,fourth-week and sixth-week treatment,as well as in the 4-week follow-up study.Result The total effective rate and the cured and marked-effect rate in the acupuncture and electroacupuncture groups were both significantly different from that in the medication group(P0.05,P0.01).Markedly Better improvements in the general score of HAMD were found in both acupuncture and electroacupuncture groups from the first-week treatment compared with that in the medication group(P0.05,P0.01),and this advantage was kept till the end of the six-week treatment.During the 4-week follow-up study,significant difference in comparing the general score was found between the electroacupuncture group and the medication group(P0.01).Regarding the items of anxiety/somatic symptoms,sleep disorder,cognition and blockage,the results in the acupuncture group and electroacupuncture group were markedly different from that in the medication group since the first-week treatment(P0.05,P0.01).A significant difference in cognition was only found in the first-week treatment between the acupuncture group and medication group(P0.05).The cognition score in the electroacupuncture group was obviously superior to that in the acupuncture group in the second-week treatment(P0.05).During the 4-week follow-up study,the scores of anxiety/somatic symptoms in the electroacupuncture group and acupuncture group were still significantly different from that in the medication group(P0.01).Conclusion Combined use of acupuncture and medication can achieve better result in treating depression compared with medication alone.Compared with acupuncture,electroacupuncture works better in improving some items and has better long-term effect,which is worth further study.