Table 7.

Comparison of Caspase-1 levels among the three groups prior and post treatment (pg/L)

Group	Prior treatment	At 2 weeks of treatment	At 4 weeks of treatment	2 weeks post treatment	Ftime	P
Control (n=30)	71.89±8.61	65.13±7.31	60.86±5.23	58.18±6.04	22.420	< 0.001
rTMS (n=31)	70.01±8.36	64.63±6.56	56.72±5.73*	51.03±4.79*	51.800	< 0.001
rTMS + acupuncture (n=31)	70.92±7.73	56.75±6.02*,#	41.99±4.93*,#	34.79±4.98*,#	220.40	< 0.001
Fgroup	0.397	15.409	107.200	157.300
P	0.674	< 0.001	< 0.001	< 0.001

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

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

rTMS: repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation.