A Comparative Study Of Botulinum Toxin A(BoNT/A)and Sertraline In The Treatment Of Depressive State

ObjectiveTo determine the efficacy and safety of Botulinum toxin A(BoNT/A)in the treatment of depressive state,and provide a new method for the effective treatment of depressive state.Methods76 patients with depressive state in the Department of Neurology,the second affiliated Hospital of Soochow University were divided into two groups:BoNT/A injection group(n=52)and sertraline group(n=24).The patients in BoNT/A injection group were treated with 100 units of BoNT/A,they were injected at 20 sites in corrugator sopercilii,depressor supercilii,frontal belly of occipitofrontal muscle,external canthus of both eyes and bilateral temporal region.The patients in sertraline group were given 50-200mg(114.58±52.08mg)per day.The patients were followed-up before treatment and 2,4,8,12 weeks after treatment.17-Item Hamilton Depression Scale(HAMD-17),14-Item Hamilton Anxiety Scale(HAMA-14),Self-rating depression scale(SDS),Self-rating anxiety scale(SAS)were used to evaluate the efficacy of the two groups.The study occurred from February 2017 to September 2018.ResultsThe scores of HAMD,HAMA,SDS and SAS were significantly decreased.But there was no significant difference between the two groups(P>0.05);HAMD score showed that the onset time of the two groups was the second week,but the score of the botulinum toxin A group decreased more significantly than the baseline(improvement rate:29.48%in BoNT/A group and 24.42%in the sertraline group).ConclusionBoNT/A injected into the facial muscles around eyes is significantly associated with the improvement of symptoms in patients with depressive state,which is similar to sertraline in onset time,but with less adverse reactions and mild symptoms.It may be considered as a safe and effective new method for the treatment of depressive state.