Issue 49
St. John?s wort- effective and well tolerated
Yet again, another group of German experts are leading
the scientific world in producing essential evidence regarding the effectiveness
of St. John?s wort. Once more, a study has shown that St. John?s wort is
as effective as the well known anti-depressant imipramine in treating mild to
moderate Depression, with the added
benefit of having less side effects.
In a large study involving 324 patients, researchers
studied different clinical measures of depression and found that those taking
St. John?s wort rather than imipramine seemed to experience bigger improvements.
Most notably a significant advantage was noted for St. John?s wort rather
than imipramine in terms of mean scores for Anxiety
and tolerability. This is just one of 33 randomised trials which shows that
St. John?s wort is safe and effective. This suggests that for those who
are not taking any other forms of medication St. John?s wort would be a
suitable, effective and well tolerated treatment for mild and moderate depression.
British Medical Journal, 2000; 321:536-539.
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