American researchers have completed a pilot study suggesting that acupuncture may be a useful adjunct to drug treatment in patients with depression, who are not responding to anti-depressant drugs alone.
Thirty patients (47% female and average age 48) with major depressive disorder, and partial or non-response to drug treatment after eight or more weeks, were given acupuncture for eight weeks, on either a weekly or twice-weekly basis. Twenty patients completed the study, and depression scores in both groups decreased significantly (18.5 to 11.5 on average). Response rates (defined as an improvement of 50% or more in depression score) were 47%. The authors concluded that acupuncture was safe, well-tolerated and effective, and may be useful in out-patient settings.
(A Pilot Study of Acupuncture Augmentation Therapy in Anti-Depressant Partial & Non-Responders with Major Depressive Disorder. Journal of Affect Disorders, April 2011.)
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.
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