Acupuncture with Antidepressants better than Drugs Alone

Acupuncture is more effective than drug treatment alone.

A pragmatic randomised controlled trial conducted by the Medicines Research Group at the University of East London, has found that patients with depression benefit more when they receive acupuncture in addition to taking SSRI antidepressant medication. (SSRIs include citalopram, fluoxetine, Prozac and seroxat.) A total of 76 patients were randomly allocated to one of two groups: one group was given an SSRI but also received acupuncture, whilst the other group was only given the SSRI. Baseline depression scores for the two groups were 22.2 and 22.1 respectively.

After the first week of treatment, the depression score in the acupuncture group had dropped to 15.6, compared to 18.3 for the second group. This significant difference was maintained to the end of the six week trial, when scores were 6.3 for the acupuncture group, and 8.2 for the drug-alone group.

(Acupuncture combined with an antidepressant for patients with depression in hospital: a pragmatic randomised controlled trial. Acupuncture in Medicine, 29 April 2014, epub ahead of print.)

Author: Robin Costello

I offer traditional Chinese acupuncture in Exeter, from a tranquil clinic a mile from the city centre, and next to the University of Exeter. I graduated originally from the London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine’s 3 year full time Acupuncture Diploma (DipAc) course. I am on the practitioners register of the British Acupuncture Council (MBAcC), a regulatory and professional body with an entry standard of a full three year undergraduate degree level training. I have worked in a hospital in south west China, deepening my knowledge and using acupuncture and Chinese massage (tuina) as the treatment of choice in its country of origin. I have taught Chinese medicine in colleges, the NHS and at university level. I also practise Qi Gong, and Chinese dietary therapy, that is the medicinal use of ordinary foods, chosen to help achieve particular therapeutic effects in different individuals.