St. John's Wort May Not Stop Major Depression
St. John's Wort May Not Stop Major Depression
'Only Minor Benefits' Noted in Review of Research
May 24, 2005 -- St. John's wort may provide "only minimal benefits" against major depression and "perhaps no benefit" for prolonged depression, says a new report in The Cochrane Library.
St. John's wort is an herbal treatment that's long been used for conditions including depression.
The report also warns that St. John's wort may interact with other drugs and that the quality of St. John's wort products may vary. Because of potential drug interactions, doctors need to know (and should ask) if their patients are taking St. John's wort, say the researchers.
The report doesn't totally dismiss St. John's wort. The researchers say the current evidence is "inconsistent and confusing" and say more studies should be done to clarify what benefits, if any, the herbal treatment has for depression.
The researchers, who included Klaus Linde of the Centre for Complementary Medicine Research in Munich, Germany, didn't conduct a new experiment. Instead, they reviewed 37 studies comparing St. John's wort to a placebo or standard antidepressant drugs.
In the studies reviewed, St. John's wort was shown to be barely better than placebo in treating depression. The results were better in studies not restricted to people with major depression.
Other studies showed that St. John's wort appeared to have "similar beneficial effects" as standard antidepressants, say the researchers, some of whom have received travel expenses or speaker's fees from a maker of St. John's wort products.
Overall, in adults with mild to moderate depression, St. John's wort improved depression symptoms more than placebo and had similar benefits to standard antidepressants, write the researchers.
However, when they looked at six large, recent, more precise trials that only included people with major depression, the researchers say they found "only minimal benefits" compared with placebo.
They also say the studies showed fewer adverse effects with St. John's wort than with older antidepressants such as the tricyclic drugs. St. John's wort may also have had slightly fewer adverse effects than newer antidepressant drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
Side effects were gauged by the number of people who quit the studies because of side effects.
St. John's Wort May Not Stop Major Depression
'Only Minor Benefits' Noted in Review of Research
May 24, 2005 -- St. John's wort may provide "only minimal benefits" against major depression and "perhaps no benefit" for prolonged depression, says a new report in The Cochrane Library.
St. John's wort is an herbal treatment that's long been used for conditions including depression.
The report also warns that St. John's wort may interact with other drugs and that the quality of St. John's wort products may vary. Because of potential drug interactions, doctors need to know (and should ask) if their patients are taking St. John's wort, say the researchers.
The report doesn't totally dismiss St. John's wort. The researchers say the current evidence is "inconsistent and confusing" and say more studies should be done to clarify what benefits, if any, the herbal treatment has for depression.
Latest Review
The researchers, who included Klaus Linde of the Centre for Complementary Medicine Research in Munich, Germany, didn't conduct a new experiment. Instead, they reviewed 37 studies comparing St. John's wort to a placebo or standard antidepressant drugs.
In the studies reviewed, St. John's wort was shown to be barely better than placebo in treating depression. The results were better in studies not restricted to people with major depression.
Other studies showed that St. John's wort appeared to have "similar beneficial effects" as standard antidepressants, say the researchers, some of whom have received travel expenses or speaker's fees from a maker of St. John's wort products.
Mixed Results
Overall, in adults with mild to moderate depression, St. John's wort improved depression symptoms more than placebo and had similar benefits to standard antidepressants, write the researchers.
However, when they looked at six large, recent, more precise trials that only included people with major depression, the researchers say they found "only minimal benefits" compared with placebo.
They also say the studies showed fewer adverse effects with St. John's wort than with older antidepressants such as the tricyclic drugs. St. John's wort may also have had slightly fewer adverse effects than newer antidepressant drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
Side effects were gauged by the number of people who quit the studies because of side effects.
Source...