Observation on the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy combined with Tiaoshen and Kaiyu acupuncture in patients with post-stroke depression

Key Points

• The central aim is to evaluate the effects of cognitive behavioral therapy combined with acupuncture on depression symptoms and related biomarkers in post-stroke depression patients.
• 116 post-stroke depression patients were randomly assigned to control and observation groups.
• Control group received standard psychological care, while the observation group added cognitive behavioral therapy and acupuncture.
• Outcome measures included depression scales and serum levels of BDNF and serotonin before and after an 8-week intervention.
• Both groups showed significant improvements in depression scores and increases in BDNF and serotonin levels post-treatment (P<0.05).
• The observation group outperformed the control group in both symptom reduction and biomarker improvement (P<0.05).
• The total effective rate was 96.55% in the observation group compared to 79.31% in the control group (P=0.010).