Efficacy of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation for patients with first-episode schizophrenia: An 8-week, preliminary, randomized controlled trial

作者：Li, Qifu; Gong, Yi; Cui, Yapeng; Cheng, Chen; Wang, Yin; Huang, Gaoyangzi; Gu, Weiqiang; Meng, Bin; Wang, Mian; Wu, Dongniya; Zhao, Siwen; Yang, Xuejuan; Qin, Wei; Sun, Jinbo^*; Guo, Taipin^*

来源：PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH, 2023, 325: 115255.

DOI：10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115255

• First-episode schizophrenia
• Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation
• Aripiprazole
• Positive and negative syndrome scale
• Interleukin-2
• Interleukin-6

Combination therapy with antipsychotics has been investigated for treating schizophrenia, and has shown clear advantages among non-invasive therapies. Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) is a novel noninvasive treatment with definite efficacy in treating mental disorders. The current study aimed to investigate the efficacy of TEAS in further improving the psychotic symptoms in patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES) being treated with pharmacological drugs.This 8-week, preliminary, sham-controlled, randomized clinical trial was conducted in patients with FES to compare the efficacy of TEAS and sham TEAS in combination with aripiprazole treatment. The primary outcome was a change in the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) score after ending the intervention (Week 8).A total of 49 participants completed the whole treatment cycle. The linear mixed-effects regression for PANSS indicated a significant time x group interaction (F(2, 116)=9.79, p <0.001). The PANSS score differed by 8.77 points (95% CI, -2.07 to -15.47 points; p=.01) between the TEAS group and the sham TEAS group after 8 weeks of treatment; this difference was significant.This study indicates that 8 weeks of TEAS combined with aripiprazole treatment can effectively treat FES. Thus, TEAS is an effective combination therapy to improve the psychiatric symptoms of FES.

• 单位
  西安电子科技大学; 云南大学