Acupuncture for Adolescent Depression: Study
Nice study!This study explored how acupuncture helps treat depression in teenagers and how it compares to antidepressant drugs. From February 2022 to June 2024, researchers ran a 4-week clinical trial at three hospitals. Participants aged 12 to 18 were divided into three groups: manual acupuncture (MA), antidepressants (ADM), or both (MA+ADM). Before and after treatment, researchers measured depression scores using the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD-24), blood levels of key brain chemicals, and brain activity using MRI scans.
After 4 weeks, both acupuncture and the combined treatment group showed clear improvements in mood and sleep. The group receiving both acupuncture and antidepressants improved the most, especially in physical symptoms and sleep quality. Acupuncture increased blood levels of important neurotransmitters like serotonin (5-HT), dopamine, and noradrenaline—chemicals that regulate mood. MRI scans showed that acupuncture also balanced activity in brain regions linked to depression, such as the frontal lobe and anterior cingulate cortex.
Overall, acupuncture helped ease depression and improve sleep in adolescents by influencing both brain chemistry and brain network activity.
Clinical trial registration: ChiCTR2200056171. https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=151197
Abstract: Acupuncture for Depression in Adolescents
Background: Pharmacological treatment for adolescent depression is limited in safety and efficacy. Acupuncture treatment for depression has been endorsed by the World Health Organization. This study aimed to analyze the efficacy and mechanisms of acupuncture in treating adolescent depression.
Methods: An 4-week clinical trial was conducted from February 1, 2022 to June 30, 2024 at three hospitals. Patients aged 12 to 18 years were divided into three treatment groups: Manual acupuncture (MA), antidepressants (ADM), or acupuncture combined with antidepressants (MA+ADM). The 24-item Hamilton Depression scale (HAMD-24) scores, serum neurotransmitters levels, and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI) data were assessed at baseline (week 0) and after treatment (week 4).
Results: After a 4-week intervention, both the MA and MA+ADM groups showed significant improvement in HAMD-24 scores. The MA+ADM group experienced more improvement, particularly in addressing somatization and sleep disorders. The study revealed that acupuncture increased serum levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), kynurenic acid, dopamine noradrenaline, adrenaline, L-histidine, and picolinic acid in adolescents with depression. Acupuncture was also found to regulate the excitability of depression-related brain regions (frontal lobe, caudate nucleus, anterior cingulate, and paracingulate gyri) and the functional connectivity of depression-related circuits (limbic-cortical-striatal-pallidal-thalamic circuit and hate circuit). Furthermore, significant negative correlations were observed between week 0 and week 4 HAMD-24 scores and up-regulated serum levels of 5-HT and dopamine. Scores were positively associated with increased amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and regional homogeneity values.
Conclusions: Acupuncture improves adolescents’ depressive mood and sleep quality and alleviates somatic symptoms by modulating neurotransmitters levels and brain activity.
Clinical trial registration: No: ChiCTR2200056171. https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=151197.
Keywords: acupuncture; adolescent; depression; magnetic resonance imaging; neurotransmitter agents.