Table 5.

Comparison of IL-6 levels among the three groups prior and post treatment (pg/ml)

Group	Prior treatment	At 2 weeks of treatment	At 4 weeks of treatment	2 weeks post treatment	Ftime	P
Control (n=30)	46.86±5.70	42.87±4.97	38.23±3.86	36.29±3.35	32.490	< 0.001
rTMS (n=31)	47.59±4.49	42.70±3.81	33.81±3.76*	31.65±3.07*	119.50	< 0.001
rTMS + acupuncture (n=31)	47.83±4.52	33.79±3.99*,#	24.80±3.18*,#	23.33±3.22*,#	276.400	< 0.001
Fgroup	0.318	425.351	109.971	127.700
P	0.729	< 0.001	< 0.001	< 0.001

^* P < 0.05, indicating comparison with control group;

^# P < 0.05, indicating comparison with rTMS group.

IL-6: interleukin-6; rTMS: repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation.