Efficacy of electroacupuncture combined with probiotics for depression and chronic diarrhea in patients and effect on serum inflammatory cytokines, NE and BDNF

摘要

Efficacy of electroacupuncture combined with probiotics for depression and chronic diarrhea in patients, and its effect on the levels of serum inflammatory cytokines, norepinephrine (NE) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were investigated. A total of 104 patients with depression and chronic diarrhea admitted to The First Clinical Faculty, Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from July 2014 to June 2018 were randomly divided into the observation group (n=56) and the control group (n=48). The observation group was treated with electroacupuncture combined with probiotics, and the control group was given conventional drugs for depression and chronic diarrhea. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) score and the abdominal symptom score were evaluated before treatment and at 3 weeks after treatment. Changes in the levels of serum inflammatory cytokines [interleukin (IL)-6, IL-2 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a] as well as the levels of NE and BDNF in the two groups of patients before and after treatment were determined using radioimmunoassay. Compared with those in the control group, the symptoms of depression and diarrhea in the observation group were remarkably alleviated (p<0.05).