Acupuncture can complement drugs when treating patients for depression, according to a study by University of Hong Kong researchers.
The research, led by Dr Zhang Zhang-jin, found that patients treated with electrically charged acupuncture needles to points in the head along with drugs rated themselves in happier spirits than those given a placebo.
Rather than focusing on the two acupoints traditionally used for treating depression, Zhang's team developed a strategy using seven in an attempt to release serotonin, a chemical in the brain influencing emotion.
Dr Roger Ng Man-kin of Kowloon Hospital's psychiatry department, and a member of the research team, said additional treatment for depression was needed as antidepressants could take between four and eight weeks to have an affect.
'Within this period, there is the danger that heavily depressed patients may self-destruct, particularly those who are suicidal,' Ng said.
Antidepressants do not work in 40 per cent of patients, and even when they do, there can be detrimental side effects, he said.