Can Acupuncture Treat Depression?
A growing number of people are
seeking alternatives to antidepressant medications, and new research suggests
that acupuncture could be a promising option. One new study found the
traditional Chinese practice to be as effective as antidepressants, and a
different study found that acupuncture may help treat the medications' side
effects.
In acupuncture, a practitioner
inserts needles into the skin at points of the body thought to correspond with
specific organs (right). Western research suggests the needles may
activate natural painkillers in the brain; in traditional Chinese medicine, the
process is believed to improve functioning by correcting energy blocks or
imbalances in the organs.
A study published last fall in the Journal
of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that electroacupuncture—in
which a mild electric current is transmitted through the needles—was just as
effective as fluoxetine (the generic name of Prozac) in reducing symptoms of
depression. For six weeks, patients underwent either electroacupuncture five
times weekly or a standard daily dose of fluoxetine. The researchers, the
majority of whom specialize in traditional Chinese medicine, assessed
participants' symptoms every two weeks and tracked their levels of glial cell
line–derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), a neuroprotective protein. Previous
studies have found lower amounts of GDNF among patients with major depressive
disorder, and in other research levels of the protein rose after treatment with
antidepressant medication.
After six weeks, both groups showed
a similar improvement in symptoms, and both treatments restored GDNF to a
normal concentration. But the acupuncture began to work faster, reducing
symptoms more dramatically at weeks two and four than the drug did. Among the
patients who got better, a higher percentage of the acupuncture recipients
showed “great improvement.”
Another study suggests that
acupuncture may help with one particularly difficult aspect of depression
treatment: the sexual side effects of some medications. Twelve weeks of
acupuncture helped both men and women with several aspects of sexual
functioning, according to the work, also in the Journal of Alternative and
Complementary Medicine. These findings add to a growing body of research
suggesting acupuncture may be useful for a variety of ailments, including
chronic pain, anxiety and nausea. — Tori Rodriguez
The report comes from here.
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