Clinical Research Of Herbal Extract On Depression

ObjectivesAs one of the traditional medical therapies for depression herbal extract has accumulated its advantage on much valuable experience in clinical practice, which holds its advantage of good overall effectiveness and fewer side effects. However, there is little clinical evidence which can prove the efficacy of herbal extract in current scientific researches. In this paper, a self-matched trail was conducted which aims to evaluate the influence of herbal extract on the quality of life of patients with depression by comparing the change of questionnaire scores before and after inversion. Thus the efficacy of herbal extract to depression can be proved.MethodThe study used a self-matched design. Totally 43 eligible cases were induced and received herbal extract treatment under the instruction of "Wen Yang Yi Qi,Xing Qi Kai Yu" method combined with Distinguishing physical, Traditional Chinese Medicine Differential Treatment theory. The patient received treaments during a 3-month period as a complete treating course. The evaluating tools include the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), the Self-rating Anxiety Scale(SAS) and self-made TCM syndromes questionnaire. The patients's effect were assessed by the above tools immediately before and after their treating course. The collected data were inputted to a database set up by SPSS15.0 and analyzed with methods including descriptive analysis, paired-sample Nonparemetric test and covariance analysis.Results1. Depression:After treatment, the score of standard patient self-rating depression scale (SDS) were significantly reduced and 37 cases of the eliglble cases's scale reduction rate≧25%, the effective rate reached 86.05%. Before and after treatment SDS scores were compared, results suggest that score differences were statistically significant (P<0.05).2. Anxiety:After treatment, the patient self-rating anxiety scale(SAS) total score decreased significantly, there were statistically significant differemces before and after treatment (P<0.05).3. Clinical symptoms:After treatment, The patients'clinical symptoms and signs were improved in varing degrees. The total score of common symptoms was decreased significantly than before.38 cases of the eliglble cases's scale reduction rate≧50%, the effective rate was 88.4%, the symptoms scale total score change were compared before and after treatment, the results suggest that the scores changed statistically significantly (P<0.05). and the safety evaluation did not show any significant adverse reactions before and after treatment.ConclusionHerbal extract has irrefutable clinical efficacy on depression, herbal extract is safe and effective treatment of depression,.The herbal extract can not only relieve depression, but aslo can improve the physical discomfort and anxiety associated with depression. It was indicated that herbal extract is of great significance in the treatment of depression and to regulation the physical and mentally condition of depression, it worthy of further exploration in this regard.