Acupuncture is more effective than antidepressants in improving depressive symptoms, and produces fewer side effects than tricyclic antidepressants, new research suggests.
The findings, by researchers with Southern Medical University in China, suggest the ancient Asian health remedy could provide an alternative for individuals who do not respond to oral antidepressants or suffer serious side effects.
For the study, published in the journal Neural Regeneration Research, lead researcher Yong Huang compared the clinical efficacy of the antidepressant drug Seroxat (paroxetine) with acupuncture and with electro-acupuncture combined with Seroxat.
The researchers found that administration of Seroxat alone or in combination with acupuncture or electro-acupuncture can produce a significant effect in patients with depression.
But the study also showed acupuncture/electro-acupuncture works quickly to ease symptoms and also produces a noticeable improvement in obsessive-compulsive, depressive, and anxiety symptoms.
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