Research Progress in the Prevention and Treatment of Post-Stroke Depression with Traditional Chinese Medicine

Abstract

Post-stroke depression (PSD) is the most prevalent complication following stroke, which severely impairs neurological functional recovery and quality of life in affected patients. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has demonstrated favorable clinical efficacy in the prevention and management of PSD. Accumulating evidence indicates that TCM monomers and their bioactive ingredients, compound preparations, and acupuncture therapy exert therapeutic effects against PSD by modulating multiple signaling pathways, including NF-κB, NLRP3, JAK/STAT3, BDNF/TrkB, Notch, PI3K/Akt/mTOR, and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. This paper systematically summarizes the research advances in TCM interventions targeting the aforementioned signaling pathways, generalizes their underlying mechanisms of action, and discusses their potential value in PSD prevention and treatment. Existing findings suggest that TCM features multi-target and multi-pathway regulatory effects: it not only alleviates depressive symptoms but also promotes neurological functional recovery, providing novel insights and theoretical evidence for the clinical treatment of PSD.