Yueju Pill Linked to Early Symptom Relief and Brain Biomarkers in Depression

In a randomized pilot study, the traditional Chinese medicine Yueju Pill was associated with early symptom improvement in patients with major depressive disorder, and baseline MRI‑derived structural network biomarkers appeared to predict antidepressant response.

The randomized, double‑blind, placebo‑controlled trial enrolled 28 outpatients at the Fourth People’s Hospital of Taizhou. The primary endpoint was change in 24-item Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD‑24) over a short treatment period. Investigators acquired MRI brain scans and peripheral blood at baseline and after treatment, applying reproducible structural‑network analyses to quantify brain architecture.

The researchers identified a predictive imaging signature based on altered sulcus depth and cortical thickness patterns within visual‑cortex networks, which correlated with greater symptom improvement in the Yueju‑treated group. Notably, only the Yueju group showed a significant increase in serum brain‑derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). While preliminary, these findings suggest that structural‑network patterns and peripheral BDNF levels may offer a biologically plausible profile for predicting early antidepressant response.