Acupuncture plus wet cupping therapy versus acupuncture-only for post-stroke depression
Photo by HUUM / Unsplash
Key Takeaway
Consider that acupuncture plus wet cupping may reduce depression scores in post-stroke patients, but evidence is limited.
This randomized controlled trial enrolled 130 patients with mild-to-moderate post-stroke depression. Participants were assigned to receive either acupuncture plus wet cupping therapy or acupuncture-only. The primary outcome was the change from baseline in the Hamilton Depression Scale-24 (HAMD-24) score at the end of week 4. Secondary outcomes included changes in HAMD-24 at 8 weeks, the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), and the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS).
The main results indicated that the acupuncture plus wet cupping therapy group showed greater reductions in HAMD-24, SDS, NIHSS, and MADRS scores post-treatment and at the 8-week follow-up. However, the absolute numbers, effect sizes, and exact p-values or confidence intervals were not reported in the input data.
Safety and tolerability were not reported; adverse events, serious adverse events, and discontinuations were not reported. Key limitations include the lack of reported effect sizes, absolute numbers, and safety data. The follow-up period was 8 weeks after the 4-week treatment period.
Practice relevance was not reported. Given the observational nature of the reported results and the absence of detailed statistical outcomes, the findings should be considered preliminary and require further validation.
View Original Abstract ↓
ObjectiveTo explore the preliminary clinical efficacy and safety of acupuncture plus wet cupping on post-stroke depression (PSD) and to investigate its potential associations with changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and inflammatory factors.Methods130 mild-to-moderate PSD patients were randomized into two groups: an acupuncture plus wet cupping therapy group (AC group, n=65) and an acupuncture-only group (Acu group, n=65). The primary outcome was the change from baseline (pre-treatment) in the Hamilton Depression Scale-24 (HAMD-24) score at the end of week 4 (post-treatment). Secondary outcomes included the change from baseline in the HAMD-24 score at the 8 weeks after the 4-week treatment period (follow-up), the changes from baseline (pre-treatment) in the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), and Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) at the end of week 4 (post-treatment) and 8 weeks after the 4-week treatment period (follow-up). Hematological indicator outcomes were measured at baseline and the end of week 4 (post-treatment), including cortisol (Cort), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), interleukin (IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-17), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α).Results118 patients completed the trial. AC group showed greater reductions in HAMD-24, SDS, NIHSS, MADRS scores post-treatment and follow-up (all P
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