Effect of Combined Use of Acupuncture and Medicine on the Activities of Daily Living in the Treatment of Post-stroke Depression

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of acupuncture plus Chinese herbal medicine(soothing the liver and strengthening the spleen) on the activities of daily living in the treatment of post-stroke depression(PSD) patients. METHOD: One hundred and twenty-eight patients with post-stroke depression were randomly allocated to Chinese herbal medicine,acupuncture,acupuncture plus medicine and western drug groups,32 cases each. They were treated with Chinese herbal medicine for soothing the liver and strengthening the spleen,acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine for soothing the liver and strengthening the spleen plus acupuncture and fluoxetine capsules, respectively. The course of treatment consisted of 30 days in all the groups. An evaluation was made using the Hamilton Depression Scale(HAMD) and the Modified Barthel Index before and after treatment.The short-term effects of different protocols on PSD and their effects on the patients' activities of daily living were evaluated. RESULT: The results were analyzed in 30 cases from each of the 4 groups.The HAMD score decreased (P0.01) and the Modified Barthel Index increased (P0.01) after treatment. A post-treatment between-group comparison showed statistically significant differences in the scores between the acupuncture plus medicine group and the other 3 groups (P0.05,P0.01) and no statistically significant differences in the scores between any two of the Chinese herbal medicine,acupuncture and western drug groups (P0.05). CONCLUSION: All the protocols can improve the symptoms and the activities of daily living in PSD patients. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine have a synergistic effect.