Objective: To investigate the clinical effect of Chaihu Shugan Tang in treating the liver-Qi stagnation type of post-stroke depression (PSD) and on serum nerve transmitters and nerve function recovery. Method: Totally 86 cases of the liver-Qi stagnation type of the liver-Qi PSD treated in our hospital from April 2016 to April 2017 were selected and divided into two groups with the random number table. The control group (43 cases) was treated with modified fluoxetine

and the observation group (43 cases) was treated with modified Chaihu Shugan Tang. The clinical efficacy

the levels of serum monoamine and amino acid neurotransmitters

the changes of neurological function and the incidence of adverse reactions were recorded and compared between the two groups. Result: The total effective rate in the observation group was 95.4% (41/43) after 6 weeks of treatment

which was significantly higher than 81.4% (35/43) in the control group (P<0.05). Compared with those before the treatment

serum dopamine (DA)

5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)

norepinephrine (NE) and glycine (Gly) levels all increased significantly in the two groups after the treatment (P<0.01)

and the levels of aspartic acid (Asp) and glutamic acid (Glu) decreased significantly (P<0.01); the improvement of the observation group was more significant (P<0.01). Compared with before the treatment

the levels of serum neuron enolase (NSE) and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) significantly decreased after the treatment in two groups (P<0.01). The level of serum brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) increased significantly (P<0.01); the improvement of observation group was more significant (P<0.01). There was no obvious adverse reaction in the two groups. Conclusion: The application modified Chaihu Shugan Tang can effectively alleviate symptoms of cases of the liver-Qi stagnation type of the liver-Qi PSD

regulate neurotransmitter expression

and promote the recovery of neurological function

with a significant efficacy and safety.