Background: To evaluate the antidepressant effects of auricular intradermal acupuncture (AIA) of areas innervated by both the auricular branch of the vagus nerve and the trigeminal nerve. Methods: Forty-nine patients with depression were randomly allocated into an AIA group ( n = 25) and a sham AIA group ( n = 24). Both groups received selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) as conventional treatment. The AIA group received AIA stimulation, and the sham AIA group received sham AIA, which constituted being subjected to an attached needle that did not penetrate the skin. The needles were retained for 4 h each session, with five sessions a week for a total duration of 2 weeks. The outcomes were assessed by the 17-item Hamilton depression rating scale (HAMD-17), five factors (sleep disorder, retardation, cognitive dysfunction, anxiety/somatization, and weight) and self-rating depression scale (SDS) at weeks 0, 1, and 2. Results: Fifty-four patients were randomly assigned to the AIA ( n = 27) and sham AIA group ( n = 27), of whom 25 patients in the AIA and 24 patients in the sham AIA group were analyzed. AIA-treated patients displayed a significantly greater reduction from baseline in HAMD-17 scores ( p = 0.03) and SDS scores ( p = 0.02) at week 2 compared to patients receiving sham AIA. The AIA intervention also produced a higher rate of clinically significant responses in sleep disorders ( p = 0.07) compared to sham AIA. No adverse events occurred in either group. Conclusion: According to the findings of this preliminary study, AIA appears to have additional value compared to SSRIs alone in treating patients with depressive disorder.

We have explored the potential of auricular intradermal acupuncture (AIA) in standard rehabilitation and acupuncture treatment for motor recovery in poststroke patients. is was a randomized, controlled preliminary clinical study in which the patients were randomly assigned to the CT group (conventional treatment, standard rehabilitation, and routine acupuncture) or AIA group (AIA combined with conventional treatment) and underwent 6 sessions in 1 week (6 days). Standard procedures and previously reported acupuncture points were used. Clinical outcomes were measured by the Fugl-Meyer motor assessment (FMA) of flexor and extensor synergy movement (FSM and ESM) of the upper and lower extremities (UE and LE) at days 0, 3, and 6. e assessment was performed by blinded assessors. e AIA group showed a significant increase in FMA-UE/FMA-LE scores on day 3 (P � 0.012 and 0.001, respectively) and day 6 (P � 0.041 and P < 0.001, respectively), but this was not observed in the CT group. Furthermore, unlike the CT group, the AIA group exhibited a significant increase in the FMA-LE score on day 3 (P � 0.004) and the FMA-UE scores on day 6 (P � 0.048). Finally, the correlation between ESM and FMA-UE/FMA-LE was higher than that between FSM and FMA-UE/FMA-LE after treatment: for ESM and UE, r � 0.759, P � 0.007; for ESM and LE, r � 0.697, P � 0.003; for FSM and UE, r � 0.604, P � 0.049; for FSM and LE, r � 0.347, P � 0.188. AIA is useful for motor rehabilitation in poststroke patients, particularly in terms of improving extensor synergy. is trial is registered with CHiCTR1800020150.

The withdrawal reflex is a defensive reaction to nociceptive stimuli and can be used to regulate locomotor gait during rehabilitation. We investigated the effect of successive needle-pricking of the plantar and dorsal foot surfaces on poststroke lower limb function. Thirty-five hemiplegic patients, within one month after primary stroke, with an affected lower limb (Brunnstrom stage III) were randomly divided into intervention and control groups. Both groups received routine drug treatment, rehabilitation training, and upper limb acupuncture treatment on the hemiplegic side. The control group also received routine acupuncture on the hemiplegic side of the lower limb, while the intervention group received successive needle-pricking on the sole and instep of both the unaffected and affected side feet. Outcomes were assessed before inception (D0) and after three (D3) and six (D6) treatment days, using Brunnstrom stage (Ueda assessment), total Fugl–Meyer lower extremity assessment (FMA-LE) and its subscores (FMA-LE-ss), active lower limb range of motion (AROM-LL), Modified Ashworth Scale Score (MAS-LL), and manual muscle testing (MMT-LL). The Brunnstrom stage was better in the intervention group than in the control group at both D3 and D6 P<0.01. The total FMA-LE score and sections B, C, D, and G FMA-LE-ss were significantly better in the intervention group than in the control group at D3 and D6 P<0.05. The AROM-LL hip and knee flexion and hip extension improved more in the intervention group than in the control group P<0.05. In the intervention group, MAS-LL hip flexion significantly improved at D6 P<0.01. Improvement in lower limb joints on the MMT-LL in the intervention group exceeded that in the control group at D6 P<0.01. Successive needle-pricking on the plantar and dorsal foot aspects of Brunnstrom stage III in poststroke patients contributed to rapid lower limb motor function improvement via the withdrawal reflex. This trial is registered with ChiCTR1900020633.

Purpose To evaluate the effect of a single intravenous low-dose esketamine combined with labour analgesia on the occurrence of postpartum depression in patients with spontaneous labour.Methods Female patients in labour were divided into a group of esketamine combined with labour analgesia (group A, n = 116), a group with labour analgesia alone (group B, n = 132) and a control group (group C, n = 51) according to the mode of analgesia. The Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) and visual analog scale (VAS) scores were collected at different time points for all three groups. Serum was also collected from patients before and after delivery to detect serum sex hormone changes.Results This clinical study was a prospective, randomised, double-blind trial. A total of 299 patients were enrolled in the study. Cross-sectional analysis showed no significant differences in EPDS scores or incidence of depression between the three groups in postpartum period, or at 1, 7 or 42 days postpartum. There were no statistically significant differences in VAS scores at 2 hours postpartum, 1 day, 2 days and 7 days postpartum. No significant differences were seen in the levels of oestrogen, progesterone, 5hydroxytryptamine and serum cortisol before delivery between the three groups. After delivery, serum cortisol levels were higher in the labour analgesia alone group than in the esketamine combined with labour analgesia group and the control group (P < 0.001). Longitudinal analysis showed that EPDS and VAS scores improved significantly over time in postpartum period for both combined esketamine and labour analgesia alone (P < 0.001), but no significant change was seen in the control group. This improvement was possibly associated with a decrease in postpartum oestrogen levels and an increase in serum cortisol levels (P < 0.001).Conclusion In this study, the combination of esketamine with labour analgesia did not reduce the incidence of depression and VAS scores at 1, 7 or 42 days postpartum.