Filiform needle acupuncture versus antidepressant drugs for poststroke depression

Whether acupuncture or antidepressant drugs exhibit better therapeutic effects on poststroke depression remains disputed. The effectiveness of acupuncture for poststroke depression can be evaluated by evidence-based medicine studies, which provide evidence for clinical application. Systematic review or meta-analysis studies have demonstrated that early acupuncture is superior to conventional western medicine in the treatment of poststroke depression.

However, high-quality literatures are needed to further validate the effectiveness of acupuncture for poststroke depression. Jiping Zhang and his colleagues, College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, China performed a meta-analysis study on the effectiveness of early filiform needle acupuncture on poststroke depression. In this meta-analysis, 17 clinical trials scored at least 4 points on the Jadad scale were included. It can be known through these included references that early filiform needle acupuncture for poststroke depression can perfectly control depression, is safe and reliable and exhibits superior therapeutic effects to antidepressant drugs.

This meta-analysis was published in Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 9, No. 7, 2014).

More information:
Zhang JP, Chen J, Chen JQ, Li XH, Lai XY, Zhang SQ, Wang SX. Early filiform needle acupuncture for poststroke depression: a meta-analysis of 17 randomized controlled clinical trials. Neural Regen Res. 2014;9(7):773-784.

Provided by Neural Regeneration Research