Efficacy of Shugan Jieyu capsule combined with alprazolam on treatment of depression patients complicated with insomnia
Song Guixia
Cheng Aobo
Wang Huaqi
Tian Yue
Zhang Shun
Gao Haibo
Abstract：Objective To observe the effect of alprazolam combined with Shugan Jieyu capsule on treatment of depression patients complicated with insomnia and study the impact on nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2(Nrf2)and antioxidant response element(ARE)signaling pathway.Methods A total of 136 patients with depression and insomnia who were admitted to the Kailuan Mental Health Cen-ter from January 2022 to June 2024 were recruited as the research subjects.The 136 patients were divided into the observation group(n=69)and the control group(n=67)according to the difference in treatment plans.The observation group received a treatment regimen combining alprazolam with Shugan Jieyu capsules on the basis of conventional therapy,while the control group received conventional treatment com-bined with alprazolam monotherapy.The depression degree(17-items Hamilton Depression scale(HAMD-17)score),sleep quality(Pitts-burgh sleep quality Index(PSQI)),neurotransmitter levels(γ-aminobutyric acid(GABA),5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT),dopamine(DA)),Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM)syndrome scores(stool and urine,sleep at night,tongue and pulse,diet,spirit),and Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway related mRNAs(Nrf2 mRNA,ARE mRNA)were observed and compared between the two groups before and after the treatment.Results The GABA,5-HT,Nrf2 mRNA and ARE mRNA of the observation group were((0.61±0.16)mmol·L-1,(127.26±13.08)ng·mL-1,(2.43±0.36),and(2.79±0.35))after the treatment,higher than((0.45±0.13)mmol·L-1,(101.76±13.96)ng·mL-1,(2.03±0.23),(2.11±0.32))of the control group(t=6.390,10.996,7.696,11.815,all P<0.05).The PSQI total scores,DA,stool and urine scores,night sleep scores,tongue and pulse scores,diet scores,and spirit scores of the observation group were respectively((9.23±2.13)points,(12.07±2.12)nmol·L-1,(0.55±0.10)points,(0.85±0.21)points,(0.78±0.23)points,(0.37±0.09)points and(0.89±0.21)points after the treatment,lower than((11.65±2.67)points,(15.20±2.09)nmol·L-1,(1.29±0.23)points,(1.68±0.37)points,(1.32±0.36)points,(1.76±0.36)points and(1.52±0.35)points of the control group(t=5.852,8.668,24.453,16.148,10.455,31.091,12.772,all P<0.05).The reduction rate of HAMD-17 score of the observation group was 53.07%,higher than 39.00%of the control group(χ2=3.984,P<0.05).Conclusion Shugan Jieyu capsule combined with alprazolam can effectively improve the depressive symptoms,sleep quality,TCM syndromes in depression patients complicat-ed with insomnia,and raise the level of neurotransmitters and the expression level of Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway related mRNA.
Keywords：Shugan Jieyu capsuleAlprazolamDepressionInsomniaNuclear factorSignaling pathway
Publication Date：2025-08-25
Online Publishing Date：2025-09-01(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 792-796 )