Alternative Health Blog
Acupuncture Treatment May Limit Dose of Anti-Depressant Needed
In a randomized, double-blinded, sham-controlled study involving 80 patients with major depressive disorder, treatment with acupuncture (5 treatments per week for 6 weeks) in addition to a low-dose of the anti-depressant, fluoxetine (10 mg/d) was found to be as effective at improving symptoms of depression as subjects who received a higher dose (the recommended dose) of fluoxetine (20-30 mg/d). Moreover, subjects who received acupuncture reported less side effects of the anti-depressant and greater improvement in symptoms of anxiety. The authors conclude that acupuncture may be beneficial to "depressive patients with severe anxious symptoms and/or intolerable side-effects of antidepressants…."
Reference:
"Combination of acupuncture and fluoxetine for depression: a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial," Zhang WJ, Yang XB, et al, J Altern Complement Med, 2009
Reference:
"Combination of acupuncture and fluoxetine for depression: a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial," Zhang WJ, Yang XB, et al, J Altern Complement Med, 2009
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Dr. Derrick DeSilva is on the Attending Staff at the Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, N.J., and on the teaching faculty at JFK Medical Center in Edison, N.J.
He has lectured on various topics in medicine --nationally and internationally-- and has his own talk show called Ask the Doctor which airs on WCTC in New Jersey (1450 AM) as well as his own television show, "To Your ...
He has lectured on various topics in medicine --nationally and internationally-- and has his own talk show called Ask the Doctor which airs on WCTC in New Jersey (1450 AM) as well as his own television show, "To Your ...
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