Abstract
Depression and anxiety together constitute a significant contribution to the global
burden of disease. Acupuncture is widely used for treatment of anxiety and depression
and use is increasing. The theoretical basis for acupuncture diagnosis and treatment
derives from traditional Chinese medicine theory. An alternative approach is used
in medical acupuncture which relies more heavily on contemporary neurophysiology and
conventional diagnosis. Trials in depression, anxiety disorders and short-term acute
anxiety have been conducted but acupuncture interventions employed in trials vary
as do the controls against which these are compared. Many trials also suffer from
small sample sizes. Consequently, it has not proved possible to accurately assess
the effectiveness of acupuncture for these conditions or the relative effectiveness
of different treatment regimens. The results of studies showing similar effects of
needling at specific and non-specific points have further complicated the interpretation
of results. In addition to measuring clinical response, several clinical studies have
assessed changes in levels of neurotransmitters and other biological response modifiers
in an attempt to elucidate the specific biological actions of acupuncture. The findings
offer some preliminary data requiring further investigation.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Autonomic Neuroscience: Basic and ClinicalAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Acupuncture for depression: a randomized controlled trial.J. Clin. Psychiatry. 2006; 67: 1665-1673
APA (American Psychiatric Association), 2000. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-IV-TR. Washington, DC.
- CDC National Health Statistics Report #12.in: Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Adults and Children. Center for Disease Control, United States2007
- The brain decade in debate: V-neurobiology of depression.Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry. 2002; 26: 613-617
- Norepinephrine in depressive reactions. A review.Arch. Gen. Psychiatry. 1965; 13: 483-494
- A randomized trial comparing acupuncture, simulated acupuncture, and usual care for chronic low back pain.Arch. Intern. Med. 2009; 169: 858-866
- Depression, Anxiety and Neurosis Group.in: About The Cochrane Collaboration (Cochrane Review Groups (CRGs)), Issue 1. Art. No: DEPRESSN. 2003
- Assessment of effectiveness of electroacupuncture and fluoxetine for treatment of depression with physical symptoms [Chinese].Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2008; 28: 167-170
- Efficacy evaluation for depression with somatic symptoms treated by electroacupuncture combined with fluoxetine.J. Tradit. Chin. Med. 2009; 29: 167-173
- Study on electroacupuncture treatment of depression by magnetic resonance imaging [Chinese].Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2009; 29: 139-144
- Western medical acupuncture.in: Ernst E. White A. Acupuncture: A Scientific Appraisal. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford1999: 31-59
- Acupuncture for treatment of depressive neurosis: a multi-center randomized controlled study. [Chinese].Zhongguo Zhenjiu. 2008; 28: 3-6
- Depressive neurosis treated by acupuncture for regulating the liver—a report of 176 cases.J. Tradit. Chin. Med. 2009; 29: 83-86
- Systematic reviews of clinical trials of acupuncture as treatment for depression: how systematic and accurate are they?.CNS Spectr. 2008; 13: 299-300
- Effectiveness of complementary and self-help treatments for depression.Med. J. Aust. 2002; 20,176
- The molecular neurobiology of depression.Nature. 2008; 455: 894-902
- A systematic review of randomized controlled trials of acupuncture in the treatment of depression.J. Affect. Disord. 2007; 97: 13-22
- Clinical observation on treatment of melancholia by acupuncture following principle of relieving depression and regulating mentality. [Chinese].Zhongguo Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi. 2007; 27: 155-157
- Influence of electro-acupuncture on the side effects of fluoxetine on depression patients.J. Tradit. Chin. Med. 2009; 29: 271-274
- Clinical study on “Jin's three-needling” in treatment of generalized anxiety disorder [Chinese].Zhongguo Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi. 2007; 27: 201-203
- Acupuncture as a complex intervention for depression: a consensus method to develop a standardised treatment protocol for a randomised controlled trial.Complement. Ther. Med. 2007; 15: 92-100
- Acupuncture for depression: first steps toward a clinical evaluation.J. Altern. Complement. Med. 2004; 10: 1083-1091
- Patients seeking care from acupuncture practitioners in the UK: a national survey.Complement. Ther. Med. 2006; 14: 20-30
- Neuropeptides: relevance in treatment of depression and anxiety disorders.Drug News Perspect. 2009; 22: 319-324
- Prospective investigation of adverse effects of acupuncture in 97 733 patients.Arch. Intern. Med. 2004; 164: 104-105
- Depression and immunity: a role for T cells?.Brain Behav. Immun. 2010; 24 ([Electronic publication 2009 Oct 8]): 1-8
- The effectiveness of acupuncture for depression—a systematic review of randomised controlled trials.Acupunct. Med. 2005; 23: 70-76
- Depression: management of depression in primary and secondary care.Clinical Guideline 23. Developed by the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health. National Institute for Clinical Excellence, London2004 (http://nice.org.uk/CG023NICEguideline)
- Anxiety: management of anxiety (panic disorder, with or without agoraphobia, and generalised anxiety disorder) in adults in primary, secondary and community care.Clinical Guideline 22 (CG022). National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, London2004 (http://www.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=cg022niceguideline)
- Psychiatric Morbidity among Adults Living in Private Households, 2000: Summary Report. HMSO, London2000
- Acupuncture for anxiety and anxiety disorders—a systematic literature review.Acupunct. Med. 2007; 25: 1-10
- Clinical and biochemical observations during treatment of depression with electroacupuncture: a pilot study.Hum. Psychopharmacol. 2002; 17: 345-348
- A clinical investigation on the efficacy of acupuncture on Baihui and Shenmen acupoints of depression. [Chinese].Zhen Jiu Lin Chuang Za Zhi. 2007; 23: 52-53
- Acupuncture, or non-directive counselling versus usual care for the treatment of depression: a pilot study.Trials. 2009; 10: 3
- General situation of electro-acupuncture in treating depressive disorders: comparing the effect with that of drug therapy.Chin. J. Clin. Rehabil. 2005; 9: 181-183
- Mental health visits to complementary and alternative medicine providers.Gen. Hosp. Psychiatry. 2004; 26: 171-177
- Acupuncture for depression.Cochrane Database Syst. Rev. Issue 3. Art. No.: CD004046. 2004https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD004046.pub2
- Acupuncture for depression.Cochrane Database Syst. Rev. Issue 1. Art. No.: CD004046. 2010https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD004046.pub3
- Genetics of anxiety disorders: the complex road from DSM to DNA.Depress. Anxiety. 2009; 26: 965-975
- Effects of electroacupuncture and fluoxetine on the density of GTP-binding-proteins in platelet membrane in patients with major depressive disorder.J. Affect. Disord. 2007; 98 (Electronic publication 2006 Aug 17): 253-257
- Imbalance between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, and between Th1 and Th2 cytokines in depressed patients: the effect of electroacupuncture or fluoxetine treatment.Pharmacopsychiatry. 2009; 42 (Electronic publication 2009 Sep 1): 182-188
- Acupuncture treatment of generalized anxiety disorder.J. Tradit. Chin. Med. 2006; 26: 170-171
- Is acupuncture beneficial in depression: a meta-analysis of 8 randomized controlled trials?.J. Affect. Disord. 2008; 111: 125-134
- A cumulative review of the range and incidence of significant adverse events associated with acupuncture.Acupunct. Med. 2004; 22: 122-133
- Using acupuncture to treat depression: a feasibility study.Complement. Ther. Med. 2008; 16 (Electronic publication 2007 Sep 29): 87-91
- The World Health Report 2004 — Changing History. 2004 (http://www.who.int/whr/2004/en/index.html)
- Depression. 2006 (http://www.who.int/mental_health/management/depression/definition/en/print.html)
- International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision. 2007 (http://www.who.int/classifications/apps/icd/icd10online/)
- Safety of acupuncture: results of a prospective observational study with 229,230 patients and introduction of a medical information and consent form.Forsch. Komplementmed. 2009; 16 ([Electronic publication ahead of print 2009 Apr 9]): 91-97
- Observation on therapeutic effect of acupuncture at Zhongwan (CV 12) and Si-guan points combined with reinforcing-reducing manipulation of respiration for treatment of depression [Chinese].Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2009; 29: 521-524
- Effect of Jin-3-needling therapy on plasma corticosteroid, adrenocorticotropic hormone and platelet 5-HT levels in patients with generalized anxiety disorder.Chin. J. Integr. Med. 2007; 13: 264-268
- The clinical efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of depression and association with serological and cytological profiles [Chinese].Zhong Guo Zhong Yi Yao Xin Xi Za Zhi. 2007; 14: 15-16
- A comparative study of electroacupuncture versus paroxetine in the treatment of depression. [Chinese].Shi Yong Yi Xue Za Zhi. 2007; 23: 2949-2950
- Clinical observation on treatment of depression by electro-acupuncture combined with paroxetine.Chin. J. Integr. Med. 2007; 13: 228-230
- The effectiveness and safety of acupuncture therapy in depressive disorders: systematic review and meta-analysis.J. Affect. Disord. 2010; 124: 9-21
- Combination of acupuncture and fluoxetine for depression: a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial.J. Altern. Complement. Med. 2009; 15: 837-844
- Therapeutic effect of acupuncture on female's climacteric depression and its effects on DA, NE and 5-HIAA contents [Chinese].Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2007; 27: 317-321
Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
April 8,
2010
Received in revised form:
April 7,
2010
Received:
December 2,
2009
Identification
Copyright
© 2010 Elsevier B.V. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
