| |  "Study shows sjw is 'a potent therapy'"
, Sat 21 May 02:49
Just in case this hasn't been posted:
'St John's wort a 'potent therapy'
James Meikle, health correspondent
Friday February 11, 2005
The Guardian
An extract of the herb St John's wort may be as potent a tool against severe depression as a commonly prescribed conventional drug, researchers suggest today.
The extract hypericum is already recognised after clinical trials as successful in treating mild to moderate forms of depression, but its efficacy in more serious cases has been disputed.
Now its credentials have been strengthened by a series of six-week trials involving patients in Germany, reported in the online medical journal bmj.com.
The researchers concluded that St John's wort was at least as effective as paroxetine, one of the class of drugs known as selective seratonin re-uptake inhibitors, in treating moderate to severe conditions. The patients also had fewer side effects.
They were each given either a total of 900mg of St John's wort a day in three dozes, or a single daily dose of 20mg of paroxetine. The addition of dummy pills in each case disguised which treatment each patient was receiving.Those who showed no response in the first two weeks had their dosages doubled.
The trials, from 2000 to 2003, suggested that 61 of the 122 patients on St John's wort found their symptoms in decline but only 43 of the 122 on paroxetine went into remission.
Those on paroxetine suffered a total of 269 "adverse effects" while those on St John's wort reported 172 effects.
The most common complaint in both cases was stomach disorder.
Government advisers have warned against use of St John's wort by those receiving certain treatments for epilepsy, asthma, migraine, heart conditions or blood clots.
Those on HIV therapy or taking the Pill should also avoid it.
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