Effect of Acupuncture on Early Onset of SSRIs Treating Depressive Disorder and Related Indicators of Neuroimmunology

Objective To observe the intervention effect of acupuncture on early onset of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors( SSRIs) in treating depressive disorder,and to study its effect on serum 5-HT and unbalanced inflammatory cytokines secreted by TH1 / TH2. Methods Totally 90 patients with depressive disorder were randomly assigned to the drug control group( as the control group,45 cases) and the acupuncture combined drug treatment group( as the treatment group,45 cases). All patients were treated for 4 consecutive weeks. Another 45 healthy subjects were recruited as a healthy control group. The effect of acupuncture on early onset of SSRIs in treating acute phase depressive disorder patients was evaluated by HAMD score in the control group and the treatment group before treatment,and at weekends of the 1 st,2 nd,and 4 th week after treatment. Besides,their serum levels of 5-HT,IL-1 β and IL-6( secreted by TH1),and IL-4 and IL-10( secreted by TH2) were detected before treatment and after treatment at the weekend of the 4 th week. Results Compared with the healthy control group,serum levels of 5-HT,IL-4,and IL-10 decreased in the two drug-treated groups before treatment( P 0. 01); serum levels of IL-1 β and IL-6 increased( P 0. 01). Compared with before treatment in the same group,HAMD score decreased in the control group at weekends of the 2 nd and the 4 th week after treatment( P 0. 01); HAMD scores decreased in the treatment group at weekends ofthe 1 st,2 nd,3 rd,and 4 th week after treatment( P 0. 01); serum levels of 5-HT,IL-4,and IL-10 increased,serum levels of IL-1 β and IL-6 decreased in the two drug-treated groups after treatment( all P 0. 01). Compared with the control group at the same time point,HAMD scores decreased in the treatment group at weekends of the 1 st,2 nd,3 rd,and 4 th week after treatment( P 0. 01),serum levels of 5-HT,IL-4,and IL-10 increased( P 0. 05,P 0. 01),serum levels of IL-6 decreased( P 0. 01). Conclusion Acupuncture could accelerate early onset of SSRIs in treating acute phase depressive disorder,and effectively regulate serum 5-HT levels and inflammatory cytokines secreted by TH1 / TH2.