Comparison of the Bupropion versus Aripiprazole Adjunctive Therapy for the Treatment of Female Depression : Post-Hoc Analyses from a Randomized Prospective Open-Label Multi-Center Study / 우울ㆍ조울병

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine effects of adjunctive aripiprazole versus bupropion, on depressive symptoms of female depression.METHODS: Sixty six female patients with major depressive disorders were enrolled from a six-week, randomized prospective open-label multi-center study. Participants were randomized to receive aripiprazole (2.5–10 mg/day) or bupropion (150–300 mg/day). Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale, 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating scale (HAM-D17), Iowa Fatigue Scale, Drug-Induced Extrapyramidal Symptoms Scale, Psychotropic-Related Sexual Dysfunction Questionnaire scores, and Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) were obtained at baseline and after one, two, four, and six weeks. Changes on individual items of HAM-D17 were assessed as well as on composite scales (anxiety, insomnia and drive), and on four core subscales that capture core depression symptoms.RESULTS: Overall, both treatments improved depressive symptoms, without causing serious adverse events. There were significant differences in the HAM-D17 total score (p=0.046) and CGI-S (p=0.004), between aripiprazole and bupropion augmentation, favoring aripiprazole over bupropion. Aripiprazole revealed significantly greater effect size in depressed mood (p=0.006), retardation (p=0.005), anxiety psychic (p=0.032), and general somatic symptom (p=0.01).CONCLUSION: While both treatments were effective, results of this study suggested that aripiprazole may be preferable, in treating general and core symptoms of female depression.

Acupuncture for female depression: a randomized controlled trial / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>to observe the effect differences and safety between acupuncture and sham acupuncture for female depression on the basis of conventional western medicine therapy.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty-two patients with depression who met the criteria were randomly assigned into an observation group and a control group, 21 patients in each group. The basic treatment in the two groups was fluoxetine. The patients in the observation group were treated with acupuncture at Zhongwan (CV 12), Xiawan (CV 10), Qihai (CV 6), Guanyuan (CV 4) and bilateral Shangqu (KI 17). Sham acupuncture was used at the above points in the control group. The treatment was given once a day on the first 3 days and once every 3 days after that, totally for 8 weeks. The scores of self-rating depression scale (SDS) and Montgomery Asberg depression rating scale (MADRS) were compared before and after 4-week and 8-week treatment in the two groups. The effects and adverse reactions were evaluated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After 4-week and 8-week treatment, the SDS and MADRS scores were significantly lower than those before treatment in the two groups (all <0.05), and the scores in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (both <0.05). The improvements of SDS and MADRS scores in the observation group before and after treatment were better than those in the control group (both <0.05). The total effective rates of SDS, MADRS scores were 85.7% (18/21), 90.5% (19/21) in the observation group, which were better than 38.1% (8/21), 57.1% (12/21) in the control group (both <0.05). The adverse reactions in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Acupuncture combined with fluoxetine are effective and safe for female depression.</p>

Changes of sex hormone in female depression patients of kidney deficiency and liver depression and the intervention traditional Chinese medicine / 国际中医中药杂志

Objective To study the changes of sex hormone levels and the intervention of Chinese medicine female depression patients of kidney deficiency and liver depression type.Methods According to CCMD-3 and ICD-10 depressive episodes diagnostic criteria and the Chinese medicine dialectical criteria,120 patients from March 2007 to March 2011 were selccted and randomly recruited into a treatment group (n=60) and a control group (n=60),respectively.The treatment group was treated with traditional Chinese medicine with the functions of tonifying kidney and soothing liver,while the control group was treated with paroxetine.Both groups were treated for 12 weeks.Another healthy group of 60 cases was also setup.HAMD score and symptom score were used to observe the curative effects,the changes of E2,P,and PRL were observed in the patients and healthy persons.Results In the treatment group:E2 levels increased,PRL decreased,compared with the same group before treatment,the difference was statistically significant,[before treatment,E2=(103.6±28.24)pmol/L,after treatment,E2=(167.7± 30.46)pmol/L,P＜0.01; before treatment,PRL=(32.5 ±7.61)μg/L,after treatment,PRL=(15.3±5.92)μg/L,P＜0.01],Compared with the healthy group,the difference was not statistically significant,[healthy group E2=(176.3±33.63) pmol/L,PRL=(12.7±5.23) μg/L,P＞0.05) ].Although the E2 level of the control group after treatment was significantly elevated than the same group before the treatment [before treatment E2=(101.3±27.18)pmol/L,after treatment E2=(142.1 ±30.11)pmol/L,P＜0.01 ],but compared with healthy controls,the differences were statistically significant [healthy group E2=(176.3±33.63)pmol/L,P＜0.01].Conclusion The method of tonifying kidney and soothing liver has effective interventions on sex hormone secretion in depression patients and improvement in patients with depressive mood.