2022 Current Neuropharmacology

Acupuncture could help manage different types of depression by increasing neuroplasticity, decreasing brain inflammation, and reducing side effects of conventional antidepressant treatment.

The study under review examines the possible mechanisms and clinical effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of different forms of depression. To do this, the researchers examined existing studies and evidence involving both human patients and animal models. A significant aspect of the investigation involved assessing how acupuncture influences neuroplasticity within the hippocampus and neural networks, along with probing the role of this non-pharmaceutical therapy in modulating brain inflammation, which had potential implications for alleviating depressive disorders.

The discussions of the results indicated that acupuncture showed considerable promise in the relief of primary depression, especially in milder cases. It was also found useful in the management of post-stroke depression, pain-related depression, and post-partum depression. The study noted positive outcomes both when acupuncture was offered as a stand-alone treatment, and when combined with conventional pharmacological treatments. It was observed that the combination of acupuncture and anti-depressant drugs not only improved primary and secondary depressive symptoms but also managed to reduce the side-effects often associated with medication regimens, which are frequent contributors to high dropout rates in pharmacological treatments.

Potential Mechanisms and Clinical Effectiveness of Acupuncture in Depression Yang NN, Lin LL, Li YJ, Li HP, Cao Y, Tan CX, Hao XW, Ma SM, Wang L, Liu CZ

2021 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Acupuncture combined with rehabilitation was more effective in improving the motor function and the ability of daily living.

The mechanism for the effects of acupuncture in the improvement of motor function and activity of daily life may be explained by two reasons. First, acupuncture can directly enhance the motor function and daily life of stroke patients. Acupuncture has been shown to lead to a higher improvement in motor function than conventional treatment. Acupuncture when combined with rehabilitation may have a positive effect on motor function, activity of daily life, neurological deficits, and spasticity. Indeed, the meta-analysis concluded that no matter what kind of acupuncture therapy was combined with rehabilitation, it was better than the rehabilitation group when it came to significantly improving the activity of daily life of patients after ischaemic stroke.

Second, acupuncture may indirectly improve the motor function and daily living ability of stroke patients by improving the symptoms of unilateral neglect and making them aware of their limbs. Acupuncture points may be the more intensive parts of the sensory organs that produce needle sensation. Acupuncture sensation is continuously transmitted to the central nervous system through the peripheral receptors of acupuncture point of contact, which facilitates new cognitive neural pathways for effective information, processing, and analysis, which may be one of the mechanisms for improving the perception of an injured hemisphere and alleviating the symptoms of unilateral neglect in patients.

Acupuncture plus Rehabilitation for Unilateral Neglect after Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Hou, Y., Liu, Y., Li, M., Ning, B., Wen, Z., & Fu, W.

2018 BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies

Chai Hu Shu Gan San (a traditional Chinese Medicine) is a promising in treating depression, especially in post-stroke and postpartum cases.

The review assessed the efficacy of Chai Hu Shu Gan San, a traditional Chinese medicine, in treating depression. Out of 560 initial studies, 42 trials met inclusion criteria. These studies were conducted in China from 2006 to 2016, involving 3234 patients with depression. Chai Hu Shu Gan San demonstrated better efficacy compared to controls, especially in post-stroke and postpartum depression. However, the methodological quality of the included studies was assessed as low, with high risks of bias. While Chai Hu Shu Gan San showed promise, further rigorously designed randomized controlled trials are needed for a conclusive evaluation of its safety and efficacy in treating depression.

Treatment of depression with Chai Hu Shu Gan San: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 42 randomized controlled trials Sun Y, Xu X, Zhang J, Chen Y

2018 Clinical Rehabilitation

Current evidence suggests that traditional manual acupuncture integrated with rehabilitation therapy is more effective in alleviating pain, improving limb movement and activities of daily living.

A total of 20 studies involving 1918 participants were included in this study. Compared to rehabilitation therapy alone, the combined therapy significantly reduced pain on the visual analogue scale and improved limb movement on the Fugl–Meyer Assessment scale and the performance of activities of daily living (ADL) on the Barthel Index scale or Modified Barthel Index scale. Of these, the visual analogue scale score changes were significantly higher favoring the combined therapy after treatment, with severe heterogeneity.

Traditional manual acupuncture combined with rehabilitation therapy for shoulder hand syndrome after stroke within the Chinese healthcare system: a systematic review and meta-analysis Peng, L., Zhang, C., Zhou, L., Zuo, H. X., He, X. K., & Niu, Y. M. (

2016 Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

Acupuncture may have beneficial effects on improving dependency, global neurological deficiency, and some specific neurological impairments for people with stroke in the convalescent stage, with no obvious serious adverse events.

Although acupuncture may have positive effects in stroke rehabilitation and there were no reported serious adverse events, the small number of low quality studies and the probability of publication bias means that there was insufficient evidence to support the routine use of acupuncture for people with subacute or chronic stroke.

Acupuncture for stroke rehabilitation Yang A, Wu HM, Tang JL, Xu L, Yang M, Liu GJ.