Acupuncture relieve depression in pregnancy.
NEW YORK – A small study suggested that a couple of months of acupuncture reduced the severity of depressive symptoms in pregnant women.
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A follow-up of 150 women with major depression who were expecting a baby tested acupuncture against specific mental disorder in contrast with massage and acupuncture, which according to traditional Chinese medicine, are not geared to address that problem.
In eight weeks, women treated with acupuncture “antidepressant” were more likely to respond to treatment, which meant that the severity of symptoms was reduced at least by half and patients no longer met full criteria for depression major.
Some 63 percent responded to therapy, compared with 37 percent of the control group and half the group treated with massage, the researchers report in Obstetrics & Gynecology.
While the results are promising, there is some doubt, as if the way acupuncture is practiced in the world is trustworthy to help women with depression.
“The protocol evaluated is effective,” he told Reuters Health the study’s lead author, Dr. Rachel Manber of Stanford University in California and online pharmacy.
“But, unlike a pill, which always contains the same ingredients, acupuncture, such as psychotherapy, varies depending on who administers” he added.
Still, he said: “We can not say that the study proves that acupuncture is effective against depression in pregnancy.”
It is estimated that between 3 and 5 per cent of pregnant women have diagnosed depression, wrote the computer. Antidepressants are a treatment option, but safety problems.
A recent study, for example, found that pregnant women who began taking selective inhibitors of serotonin reuptake (SSRIs) in the second or third trimester were at high risk of premature delivery. SSRIs include drugs such as sertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil) and fluoxetine (Prozac).
Since medications can complicate pregnancy, many pregnant women with depression opt for psychotherapy or other nonpharmacological options.
But Manber said it is unknown why acupuncture reduces the severity of depression.
The team told the 52 women randomized to two weekly sessions of acupuncture antidepressant for four weeks and then one session weekly for four weeks.
Other 49 women received acupuncture “control” and 49 massages. All of them assessed the severity of depression at baseline and at four and eight weeks.
At eight weeks, women treated with acupuncture had specifically responded better to treatment. However, there were more likely to achieve complete remission of the disorder (35 percent versus 29.5 percent for the other two groups).
Fourteen women treated with acupuncture felt pain antidepressant during sessions and so did seven women in the control group.
The team noted that the response to acupuncture was similar to that recorded in studies on the effectiveness of psychotherapy for depression in pregnancy.
SOURCE: Obstetrics & Gynecology, March 2010.