Abstract:

AIM: To evaluate the effect of huperzine A combined with escitalopram on clinical efficacy and cognitive function in depression patients.  METHODS: Sixty patients with depression were randomly divided into study group which accepted treatment of huperzine A combined with escitalopram and control group that were given escitalopram only (n=30). All patients in both groups accepted treatment for 8 weeks. The 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17) and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) were assessed as indicators of efficacy; Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised  of China(WMS-RC) were used for assessment of cognitive function, Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale (TESS) was used to assess the adverse reactions before treatment and 8 weeks after treatment．RESULTS:（1）The total efficacy rate (90.0%) and recovery rate (50.0%) in study group was higher than that in control group (86.7%, 46.7%), but the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The HAMD-17 and HAMA scores in both groups after treatment were significantly lower than that before treatment (P<0.05), however, the HAMD-17 and HAMA scores between the two groups were similar (P>0.05).（2）For study group, total trials, preservative errors and random errors of WCST after treatment were significantly lower than those before treatment (P<0.05) while the total trials after treatment in control group were significantly lower than that before treatment (P<0.05). The WMS-RC score of long-term, short-term and immediate memory, and memory quotient in two groups were significantly higher than that before treatment in both groups (P<0.05). After treatment, the random errors of WCST in study group were significantly lower than those in control group. WMS-RC score of long-term memory, short-term memory and memory quotient in study group were significantly higher than that of control group (P<0.05).（3）No significant difference of adverse reactions were found between two groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSION:A combination of huperzine A and escitalopram in the treatment of depression has high efficacy and safety similar to escitalopram monotherapy. It also can significantly improve cognitive function which is superior to monotherapy.

Key words: huperzine A, escitalopram, depression, clinical efficacy, cognitive function