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Efficiency and safety of yueju antidepressant for primary depression patients: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Yonghui Yu,Haiying Song,Jiangang Liu,Peili Wang,Chenglong Wang

Published 2020 in Journal of Herbal Medicine

ABSTRACT

Abstract Background An increasing number of studies have reported that some Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM) such as the Chinese formula Yueju antidepressant can help patients suffering from primary depression. Several clinical studies have reported the clinical efficiency of Yueju antidepressant, with fewer reported side effects than commonly used pharmaceuticals, indicating a more effective and user-friendly medication for patients with depression. Objective To review the available literature and systematically investigate the clinical evidence of Yueju antidepressant for the treatment of primary depression. Methods This study was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO), number CRD42017078860. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library; and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Vip information database, Wanfang data and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (SINOMED), with no language restrictions, were searched from commencement of the study to September 2017. Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) with patients suffering from primary depression, who were given Yueju antidepressant alone or Yueju combined with a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI) were compared with the results from patients who were only given an SSRI. The studies were independently reviewed by two reviewers and then analyzed by Cochrane Revman 5.3 software. The outcomes included clinical efficiency, Hamilton Depression scale (HAMD) score, Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) scores, Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90) scores, 5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) concentrations, and occurrence of adverse reactions. Results A total of 12 RCT studies, including 770 patients, were identified. Compared with conventional antidepressants, Yueju antidepressant exhibited an increase in clinical efficiency (RR = 1.09, 95 % CI: 1.02 to 1.17, P = 0.01) and an obvious reduction in HAMD scores after several weeks of treatment (4 weeks: MD = –1.25, 95 % CI: –1.90 to –0.59, P = 0.0002; 6 weeks: MD = –1.31, 95 % CI: –2.49 to –0.14, P = 0.03; 8 weeks: MD = –1.42, 95 % CI: –2.61 to –0.24, P = 0.02), and in SCL-90 scores (MD = –0.85, 95 % CI: –1.24 to –0.45, P Conclusion The present review suggests that Yueju antidepressant, or Yueju combined with conventional antidepressants, is significantly superior in clinical efficiency, reduction of HAMD scores from the fourth week, amelioration of SCL-90 scores, and decrease of adverse events compared to conventional antidepressants alone. More precisely designed, randomized controlled trials with larger samples are required before Yueju antidepressant can be recommended to treat patients with primary depression.

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