Effect of music therapy derived from the five elements in Traditional Chinese Medicine on post-stroke depression.

Abstract Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of five phase music therapy in patients with depression after ischemic stroke. Methods A total of 92 patients with post-stroke depression were randomly divided into the control group (32 cases), treatment group A (30 cases), and treatment group B (30 cases). All groups were given basic therapies for cerebral infarction. In addition, the control group was administerd 50 mg of oral sertraline hydrochloride daily, while treatment groups A and B received needling at Baihui (GV 20) plus acupoint injection at Yanglingquan (GB 34) daily; treatment group B also received music therapy derived from the five phases in Traditional Chinese Medicine theory twice daily. All treatments were administered for 5 days per treatment cycle for three cycles, with a 1 day interval between cycles. In all three groups, Hamilton's depression scale (HAMD-17) score and the activities of daily life (ADL) score were measured before and after treatment, and side effects were assessed with the Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale. Results The HAMD-17 score significantly decreased after treatment in all three groups, and the post-treatment reduction in HAMD-17 score was markedly greater in treatment group B than in treatment group A (P Conclusion Five phase music therapy plus acupoint needling and acupoint injection can improve the symptoms in patients with post-stroke depression.