Indeed St. Placebo? Depressed patients taking St. John's wort extract (above) has not responded better than those taking a placebo.
The wort herbal remedy St. John popular plants is not effective in the treatment of major depression, according to results of a clinical trial reported in the April 18 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association . But experts are divided as to whether the trial, which was funded and partly developed by Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company that sells the popular antidepressant Zoloft prescription, really prove that the grass does not.
St. St. John's wort, Hypericum perforatum , is a small flowering weed that has been used for centuries to treat what was known as "nervous disorders." herb extracts are widely sold today. More than 30 studies have claimed that the remedy relieves depression. But these studies have "significant limitations" says psychiatrist Richard Shelton of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, as small sample sizes or reliable methods to assess depression.
To test the strictest hypericum, Shelton and colleagues at 10 other medical centers tested the extract and a similar placebo-tasting pill on 0 people suffering from depression. Symptoms The subjects were severe enough to interfere with the operation day to day, but not serious enough to make suicidal. The researchers followed the progress of subjects using a standardized rating scale that measures symptoms such as fatigue, sleep disturbances and depressed mood. After 8 weeks, depression ease about the same rates in patients taking placebo must and St. John. In addition, the results were the same when patients rather than researchers assessed their own depression. "Until we have good data to support St. John's wort, we probably should not recommend it," says Shelton.
Not so fast, say other experts. Unlike many clinical trials, the researchers did not test a third group of patients with a drug that is known to work - a procedure which ensures that the true antidepressant effects could be detected, says Fred Quitkin psychiatrist at Columbia University College of physicians and Surgeons of the city of New York. in addition, the plant can still help mild depression, said Barak Gaster internist at the University of Washington, Seattle. However, although the results are not conclusive, they "must be taken seriously," says Quitkin, and "another good study would be the kiss of death for the wort."
Related Sites
Information about St. John's wort, the National Institute of Mental Health
More about St. John's wort, the National Center for Complementary Medicine and alternative.
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