Journal of International Psychiatry

Objective：To study the effects of traditional Chinese medicine and sertraline on clinical efficacy and the expression changes of the serum cytokines soluble interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in first-episode depression patients. Methods：68 cases first-episode depression patients in our hospital from May, 2012 to November, 2015 were randomly divided into control group (sertraline treatment) and experimental group (treated with Chai hu long mu tang and sertraline). The treatment duration time was 6 weeks. The total effective rates, HAMD scale, expression levels of inflammatory cytokines and adverse drug reaction of two groups were compared. Results：The total effective rate of experimental group (94.1%) was significantly higher than control group (76.5%) (P<0.05). The values of HAMD at 4th, 6th week post-treatment were lower in experimental group compared with the control group (both P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the levels of IL-2, IL-6 and TNF-α decreased significantly, the differences of them were statistically significant (all P<0.05). However, there was no statistical difference on adverse drug reaction in two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion：Traditional Chinese medicine and sertraline for the treatment of first-episode depression patients has a significant clinical effect. Its mechanism of action can be related to attenuating inflammatory injury.