Acupuncture for the Treatment of Depression and Physical Symptoms in Chronic Bipolar Disorder: A Case Report

Differences in Symptoms Following Acupuncture Treatment in Three Case Presentations of Bipolar Disorder: Type 2, Comorbid Anxiety Disorder, and Rapid Cycling Type

Background

This study reports the effects of acupuncture treatment on depression and anxiety symptoms for 3 different bipolar disorder (BD) pathologies.

Case

Case 1: A 35-year-old man was diagnosed with BD type 2. His depressive symptoms appeared 17 years ago. He did not meet the diagnostic criteria for anxiety disorder (AD) in the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Case 2: A 32-year-old woman was diagnosed with BD type 2 with AD. Her depressive symptoms appeared 5 years ago. MINI indicated panic-, social anxiety-, and generalized AD. Case 3: A 42-year-old woman was diagnosed with rapid cycling BD. She developed depressive and hypomanic symptoms and visited our hospital 18 years ago. Acupuncture treatment was performed weekly for 12 weeks. Depression and anxiety symptoms were evaluated using the Himorogi Self-Rating Depression Scale (HSDS) and Himorogi Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (HSAS), respectively.

Results

Case 1: The HSAS score did not improve significantly, but the HSDS score decreased from 22 points at baseline to 9 points at the 12th visit. Case 2: The HSDS score did not improve, and the HSAS score remained high from 26 points at baseline to 25 points at the 12th visit. Case 3: During the acupuncture period, both HSDS and HSAS scores fluctuated greatly, and the patient experienced repeated episodes of depression and hypomania.

Conclusions

The response to acupuncture treatment may differ according to the classification and pathology of BD, and it may be desirable to perform the acupuncture treatment after evaluating the pathology and estimating the prognosis.