Luo H, Meng F, Jia Y, Zhao X
Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Institute of Mental Health, Beijing Medical University, PR China.
Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 1998 Dec;52 Suppl:S338-40. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1819.1998.tb03262.x.
Electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation has been found to influence the brain (norepinephrine metabolism in experimental animals). Preliminary clinical research has shown that EA treatment is as effective as amitriptyline for patients with depression. In this study, two consecutive clinical studies on the treatment of depression with EA are conducted. The first study was double blind placebo controlled, in which 29 depressed inpatients were recruited. Patients were randomly divided into three groups: EA + placebo; amitriptyline; and EA + amitriptyline. They received EA and/or amitriptyline treatment for 6 weeks. The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Clinical Global Impression and ASBERG scales for the side effect of antidepressants were used to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy and side effects. Based on the results and research protocol of the first study, a multi-centered collaborative study was conducted, in which 241 inpatients with depression were recruited. Patients were randomly divided into two treatment groups: the EA + placebo and the amitriptyline groups. The results from both studies showed that the therapeutic efficacy of EA was equal to that of amitriptyline for depressive disorders (P > 0.05). Electro-acupuncture had a better therapeutic effect for anxiety somatization and cognitive process disturbance of depressed patients than amitriptyline (P < 0.05). Moreover, the side effects of EA were much less than that of amitriptyline (P < 0.001). The article suggested that EA treatment was an effective therapeutic method for depressive disorders. Particularly, it was a treatment of choice for depressed patients who were unable to comply with the classic tricyclic antidepressants because of their anticholinergic side effects. The possible mechanism of EA treatment is discussed.
电针刺激已被发现会影响大脑（实验动物中的去甲肾上腺素代谢）。初步临床研究表明，电针治疗对抑郁症患者的效果与阿米替林相当。在本研究中，进行了两项关于电针治疗抑郁症的连续临床研究。第一项研究为双盲安慰剂对照试验，招募了29名住院抑郁症患者。患者被随机分为三组：电针+安慰剂组；阿米替林组；电针+阿米替林组。他们接受电针和/或阿米替林治疗6周。使用汉密尔顿抑郁评定量表、临床总体印象量表以及抗抑郁药副作用的阿斯伯格量表来评估治疗效果和副作用。基于第一项研究的结果和研究方案，开展了一项多中心协作研究，招募了241名住院抑郁症患者。患者被随机分为两个治疗组：电针+安慰剂组和阿米替林组。两项研究的结果均表明，电针治疗抑郁症的疗效与阿米替林相当（P>0.05）。与阿米替林相比，电针治疗对抑郁症患者的焦虑躯体化和认知过程障碍具有更好的治疗效果（P<0.05）。此外，电针的副作用远少于阿米替林（P<0.001）。文章表明，电针治疗是抑郁症的一种有效治疗方法。特别是，对于因经典三环类抗抑郁药的抗胆碱能副作用而无法耐受的抑郁症患者，电针是一种首选治疗方法。本文还讨论了电针治疗的可能机制。
