Objective: To observe the therapeutic effects of acupuncture for depressive neurosis by using liver-function-regulating method.Methods: A total of 201 patients were randomized into acupuncture group(n=78)

medication(Prozac) group(n=82) and sham-acupuncture group(n=41).Acupoints used were Taichong(LR 3)

Hegu(LI 4)

Baihui(GV 20)

Yintang(EX-HN 3)

otopoint Liver and Heart.For sham-acupuncture group

the punctured spots were those(0.5 cm) to LR 3 and(LI 4) on the radial side

(0.5 cm) to(GV 20) on the left side

(0.5 cm) to EX-HN 3 on the left side.Acupuncture treatment was given twice every week

12 weeks altogether.Patients of medication group were ordered to take Prozac(20 mg/d)

continuously for 12 weeks.Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression(HAMD) and Self-rating Depression Scale(SDS) were used to evaluate the therapeutic effect.Results: After the treatment

of the 78

82 and 41 cases in acupuncture

medication and sham-acupuncture groups

7(9.0%)

10(12.2%) and 1(2.4%) were cured

55(70.5%)

33(40.2%) and 13(31.7%) experienced marked improvement in their symptoms

14(18.0%)

25(30.5%) and 12(29.3%) had improvement

2(2.5%)

14(17.1%) and 15(36.6%) failed

with the effective rates being 97.5%

82.9% and 63.4% respectively.The effective rate of acupuncture group was significantly higher than those of medication group and sham-acupuncture group ((P<0.01))

and that of medication group was markedly higher than that of sham-acupuncture group((P<0.05)).Scores of HAMD and SDS of the 3 groups all decreasedapparently after the treatment

and those of acupuncture group were significantly lower than those of sham-acupuncture and medication groups((P<0.05))

showing that the effect of acupuncture was significantly superior to that of Prozac in improving depression patients' clinical symptoms.HAMD and SDS scores of medication group were significantly lower than those of sham-acupuncture group((P<0.05)).Conclusion: Acupuncture therapy is effective in improving symptoms of depression patients and lowering both HAMD and SDS scores.