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Antidepressants > St. John's Wort
St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum)
Related Topics:
Specific Recommendations:
Ze 117 Extract (Not available in the
US, Remotiv brand in Germany):
- St. John's
Wort Equivalent to World's Best-selling Antidepressant
- herbs.org
- The
Neurocognitive Effects of Hypericum perforatum Special Extract (Ze 117)
during Smoking Cessation - Phytother Res. 2012 Dec 19 -
"We assessed the neurocognitive effects of Remotiv®
(Hypericum perforatum Special Extract - Ze 117), Nicabate CQ Nicotine
Replacement therapy (NRT) and combined NRT/HP during conditions of smoking
abstinence in 20 regular smokers aged between 18 and 60 years over a period
of 10 weeks during smoking cessation. A Spatial Working Memory (SWM) task
was completed at baseline, 4 weeks prior to quitting, as well as at the
completion of the study, following the 10 weeks of treatment. Brain activity
was recorded during the completion of the SWM task using Steady-State Probe
Topography. Reaction time and accuracy on the SWM task were not found to be
significantly different between treatment groups at retest. Differences in
SSVEP treatment profiles at retest are discussed, including stronger SSVEP
Amplitude increase in posterior-parietal regions for the HP and NRT groups
and greater fronto-central SSVEP Phase Advance in the HP group"
- No one can argue placebo effect on this study:
St. John's wort extract Ze 117 (Hypericum perforatum) inhibits
norepinephrine and serotonin uptake into rat brain slices and reduces
3-adrenoceptor numbers on cultured rat brain cells - Pharmacopsychiatry
2001 Jul;34 Suppl 1:S56-60 -
"The Ze 117 extract was more selective for the
uptake of NE than for that of 5-HT. The maximal extent of uptake inhibition
by Ze 117 extract was comparable to that of imipramine (IMI), desipramine
(DMI) or fluvoxamine for 5-HT, but lower for NE transport, than that of the
synthetic antidepressants"
-
Equivalence of St John's wort extract (Ze 117) and fluoxetine: a randomized,
controlled study in mild-moderate depression - Int Clin Psychopharmacol
2000 Mar;15(2):61-8 -
"We concluded that hypericum and fluoxetine are
equipotent with respect to all main parameters used to investigate
antidepressants in this population. Although hypericum may be superior in
improving the responder rate, the main difference between the two treatments
is safety. Hypericum was superior to fluoxetine in overall incidence of
side-effects, number of patients with side-effects and the type of
side-effect reported"
-
Comparison of St John's wort and imipramine for treating depression:
randomised controlled trial - BMJ 2000 Sep 2;321(7260):536-9 -
"Among the 157 participants taking hypericum mean
scores on the Hamilton depression scale decreased from 22.4 at baseline to
12.00 at end point; among the 167 participants taking imipramine they fell
from 22.1 to 12.75 ... This Hypericum perforatum extract is therapeutically
equivalent to imipramine in treating mild to moderate depression, but
patients tolerate hypericum better" - Bottom line, the SJW group
rated more depressed than the imipramine group before the study and less
depressed than the imipramine group after the study. There are doctor's who
would argue that they should have used 225 mg of imipramine but then they
could have tried 750 mg on the Ze 117 extract also.- Ben
- Comparison of
St. John's Wort and Imipramine for Treating Depression: Randomised
Controlled Trial - Medscape, 9/00
-
Comparison of St John's wort and imipramine for treating depression:
randomised controlled trial - BMJ 2000 Sep 2;321(7260):536-9
- St. John's Wort
Trumps Depression Drug - WebMD, 9/1/00
-
Comparison of St John's wort and imipramine for treating depression:
randomised controlled trial - BMJ 2000;321:536539 (2 September) -
"Among the 157 participants taking hypericum mean scores on the Hamilton
depression scale decreased from 22.4 at baseline to 12.00 at end point;
among the 167 participants taking imipramine they fell from 22.1 to 12.75"
-
Medline search of Ze 117
LI 160 Extract (Kira®
Brand LI-160 extract in the US, Jarsin 300
brand in Germany):
-
Medicinal Plant, St John's Wort, May Reduce Neuronal Degeneration Caused By
Parkinson's Disease - Science Daily, 5/11/09 -
"suggests that this plant with antidepressant properties has antioxidant
active ingredients that could help reduce the neuronal degeneration caused
by the disease" - See
St. John's wort at Amazon.com
 .
- St. John's Wort
Useful for Severe Depression - WebMD, 2/10/05 -
"At the end of six weeks, 71% of the patients taking
St. John's Wort and 60% of those taking Paxil had responded to treatment.
Half of the St. John's Wort-treated patients and 35% of the Paxil-treated
patients were free of depression symptoms"
-
New Use Suggested For St. John's Wort - Psychiatric News, 9/17/04 -
"St. John's wort "may be a useful therapeutic alternative in the acute
treatment of mildly to moderately severe
somatoform disorder." ... The St. John's wort used in this study is from
a specific company, Lichtwer, with a long history of outstanding quality
control and a consistent approach to the processing of St. John's wort.
Individuals going to health food stores and purchasing St. John's wort are
not likely to find the same consistency in the quality of the product"
- Lichtwer is the LI-160 extract sold under the band name
Kira®
in the U.S.
- St. John's Wort as
Effective as Zoloft® against Depression
- New Hope Natural Media Online, 6/13/02 -
"St. John's wort (SJW), a popular herbal remedy, is
at least as effective as the prescription drug
sertraline (Zoloft®) in the treatment of
depression
and causes fewer side effects, according to a new study published in
Canadian Family Physician (2002;48:905–8). This report confirms dozens of
other studies demonstrating SJW is an effective treatment for
mild-to-moderate depression, and contradicts two controversial studies
suggesting the herb is of little or no benefit ... After 12 weeks, the
severity of depression had decreased by an average of 50.2% in the SJW group
and by 41.6% in the sertraline group"
-
Effect of Hypericum perforatum (St John's Wort) in Major Depressive
Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial - JAMA, 4/10/02 -
"extract (LI-160) ... neither sertraline nor H
perforatum was significantly different from placebo ... Dr Davidson holds
stock in Pfizer"
-
Money colors drug research - USA Today, 1/22/03 -
"industry funding makes it 3.6 times more likely
that a study result will be favorable to the sponsor"
- St. John's Wort
Not Effective -- Again - WebMD, 4/9/02
-
Efficacy and tolerability of St. John's wort extract LI 160 versus
imipramine in patients with severe depressive episodes according to ICD-10
- Pharmacopsychiatry 1997 Sep;30 Suppl 2:81-5 -
"6-week trial comparing 1800 mg LI 160/die to 150 mg
imipramine/die in severely depressed patients according to ICD-10 ... mean
values 25.3 to 14.5 in the LI 160 group and 26.1 to 13.6 in the imipramine
group ... Regarding adverse events, the nonrejection of the nonequivalence
hypothesis denotes a superiority of the herbal antidepressant. These main
result indicate that LI 160 might be a treatment alternative to the
synthetic tricyclic antidepressant imipramine in the majority of severe
forms of depressions"
-
Comparison of an extract of hypericum (LI 160) and sertraline in the
treatment of depression: a double-blind, randomized pilot study
- Medline/Clin Ther 2000 Apr;22(4):411-9, 4/00 -
"Clinical response (defined as a > or =50% reduction
in HAM-D scores) was noted in 47% of patients receiving hypericum and 40% of
those receiving sertraline ... The [LI 160] hypericum extract was at least
as effective as
sertraline in the treatment of
mild to moderate depression in a small group of outpatients"
-
Neuroendocrine evidence for dopaminergic actions of hypericum extract (LI
160) in healthy volunteers - Biol Psychiatry 1999 Aug 15;46(4):581-4 -
"Following HP relative to placebo, there was a
significant increase in plasma GH [growth
hormone] and a significant decrease in plasma PRL [prolactin]"
- Note: Prolactin is bad for your sex like.
-
Hypericum LI 160 inhibits uptake of serotonin and norepinephrine in
astrocytes - Brain Res 1999 Jan 23;816(2):358-63 -
"We found that LI 160 inhibited both serotonin and
norepinephrine uptake in a dose-dependent manner"
-
Acute effects of LI 160 (extract of Hypericum perforatum, St John's wort)
and two of its constituents on neuroendocrine responses in the rat
- J Psychopharmacol 2000;14(4):360-3 -
"LI 160 also lowered plasma prolactin and prevented
the increase in plasma prolactin following haloperidol administration"
- Note:
Prolactin is bad for your sex life.
-
Effectiveness and tolerance of the hypericum extract LI 160 in comparison
with imipramine: randomized double-blind study with 135 outpatients
- J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 1994 Oct;7 Suppl 1:S19-23 -
"a parallel reduction of the Hamilton score from
20.2 to 8.8 (LI 160, n = 67) or from 19.4 to 10.7 (imipramine, n = 68) ...
In the LI 160 group fewer and milder side effects were found as compared to
imipramine"
- St. John's wort study was financed and biased by
Pfizer, makers of Zoloft - Ben
-
Questions About St. John's Wort - Intelihealth, 4/25/01
-
Study: St. John's wort ineffective in severe depression
- CNN, 4/18/01 - "At the time the study was done,
Pfizer also sold St. John's wort, but the company stopped selling herbs last
year because it wasn't profitable" -
That's the whole problem in a nutshell, Ben
- Depressing News:
St. John's Wort May Not Work After All, Don't Believe the Hype, Says
Researcher - WebMD, 4/17/01
-
Comparison of an extract of hypericum (LI 160) and sertraline in the
treatment of depression: a double-blind, randomized pilot study
- Medline/Clin Ther 2000 Apr;22(4):411-9, 4/00 -
"Clinical response (defined as a > or =50% reduction in HAM-D scores) was
noted in 47% of patients receiving hypericum and 40% of those receiving
sertraline ... The [LI 160] hypericum extract was at least as effective as
sertraline in the treatment of mild to moderate depression in a small
group of outpatients"
-
Medline search of LI 160
WS 5572 Extract (Perika
Brand in US, Neuroplant 300 brand in
Germany):
WS 5570 Extract (contains at least 4%
hyperforin but I don't believe it's available)/(Perika
Brand in US, Neuroplant 300 brand in
Germany):
-
Comparing Perika St.
John's Wort and Sertraline for Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in
Mice - J Diet Suppl. 2019 Feb 18:1-9 - "exaggerated
acoustic startle response (ASR) ... Thirty-six mice were tested for baseline
ASR, then they were exposed to rats in a predator exposure paradigm known to
induce PTSD-like symptoms. Mice were randomly divided into three groups for
treatment (control, sertraline, SJW), and ASR was retested one week later.
One-way ANOVAs found no significant group differences in ASR amplitude at
baseline but a significant effect of Treatment Group after predator exposure,
F(2, 33) = 5.645, p = .008, n2 = .225, when SJW-treated mice had ASR amplitudes
that were significantly lower than sertraline-treated mice (by 27%) and controls
(by 26%). Fecal boli counts showed a similar pattern, with lowest counts in
SJW-treated mice. These results suggest SJW could be considered for studies of
PTSD treatment in humans as well" - See
Perika St. John's Wort at Amazon.com.
-
Continuation and long-term maintenance treatment with Hypericum extract
WS((R)) 5570 after recovery from an acute episode of moderate depression - A
double-blind, randomized, placebo controlled long-term trial - Eur
Neuropsychopharmacol. 2008 Aug 9 - "3x300 mg/day
WS((R)) 5570 or placebo for 26 weeks. 426 patients
were evaluated for efficacy. Relapse rates during continuation treatment
were 51/282 (18.1%) for WS((R)) 5570 and 37/144 (25.7%) for placebo. Average
time to relapse was 177+/-2.8 and 163+/-4.4 days for WS((R)) 5570 and
placebo, respectively (time-to-event analysis; p=0.034; alpha=0.025
one-sided). Patients treated with WS((R)) 5570 showed more favorable HAMD
and Beck
Depression Inventory time courses and greater
over-all improvement (CGI) than those randomized to placebo. In long-term
maintenance treatment a pronounced prophylactic effect of WS((R)) 5570 was
observed in patients with an early onset of depression as well as in those
with a high degree of chronicity. Adverse event rates under WS((R)) 5570
were comparable to placebo. WS((R)) 5570 showed a beneficial effect in
preventing relapse after recovery from acute depression. Tolerability in
continuation and long-term maintenance treatment was on the placebo level"
-
New Study Finds Different Results on Efficacy of St. John's Wort for
Depression - Clinical Psychiatry News, 3/05 -
"extract WS 5570 ... Patients whose initial response
was insufficient could increase the dose of hypericum extract to 1,800
mg/day or of paroxetine to 40 mg/day ... response rates were 60% in the
hypericum group and 63% in the paroxetine group, while remission rates were
46.6% with hypericum and 42.9% with paroxetine"
- Note: The WS 5570 extract is sold under the Perika(R) brand name.
-
Acute treatment of moderate to severe depression with hypericum extract WS
5570 (St John's wort) - NPI Center, 2/11/05 -
"This extract (WS(R) 5572) contains the same patented, standardized and
stabilized hyperforin content as WS(R) 5570, and is marketed as Perika(R)
St. John's Wort by Nature's Way Products, Inc"
- St. John's Wort
Useful for Severe Depression - WebMD, 2/10/05 -
"At the end of six weeks, 71% of the patients taking
St. John's Wort and 60% of those taking Paxil had responded to treatment.
Half of the St. John's Wort-treated patients and 35% of the Paxil-treated
patients were free of depression symptoms"
-
Efficacy of St. John's wort extract WS 5570 in major depression: a
double-blind, placebo-controlled trial - Am J Psychiatry 2002
Aug;159(8):1361-6
-
Neuroendocrine effects of Hypericum extract WS 5570 in 12 healthy male
volunteers - Pharmacopsychiatry 2001 Jul;34 Suppl 1:S127-33
-
Medline search of WS 5570
STW3-VI Extract:
Other News:
-
Folecitin Isolated from
Hypericum oblongifolium Exerts Neuroprotection against Lipopolysaccharide-Induced
Neuronal Synapse and Memory Dysfunction via p-AKT/Nrf-2/HO-1 Signalling Pathway
- Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2022 Mar 28 -
"Neurodegenerative diseases, especially Alzheimer's disease (AD), are
characterised with neuronal synapse and memory dysfunction, and thus, there is
an urgent need to find novel therapeutic medicines that can target different
pathways to restore the deficits. In this investigation, we assessed the
medicinal potency of folecitin (a flavonoid isolated from Hypericum
oblongifolium Wall.) against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced amyloidogenic
amyloid beta (Aβ) production pathway-mediated memory impairment in mice. ...
folecitin significantly decreased LPS-induced apoptotic proteins; expressed BAX,
PARP-1, and caspase-3 proteins; and inhibited BACE1 that cleaves transmembrane
amyloid precursor protein and the amyloidogenic Aβ production pathway. Folecitin
restored both preneural and postneuronal synapse, accompanied by the improvement
in memory impairment. Moreover, folecitin significantly activated endogenous
antioxidant proteins Nrf-2 and HO-1 by stimulating the phosphorylation of Akt
proteins. These findings indicate that folecitin might be a promising target for
developing novel medication to treat neurodegenerative disorders caused by
neurotoxins" - See St. John's wort at Amazon.com.
-
St. John's Wort alleviates
dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis through pregnane X receptor-dependent
NFκB antagonism - FASEB J 2021 Nov - "St. John's
wort (SJW), from traditional herbs, activates the pregnane X receptor (PXR), a
potential drug target for treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) ... These
data indicate the therapeutic potential of SJW in alleviating DSS-induced IBD in
vivo, and TNFα-induced NFκB activation in vitro, dependent on PXR activation,
which may have clinical implications for using SJW as a herbal drug anti-IBD"
- See
St. John's wort at Amazon.com.
-
St. John’s Wort Extract - Dr. Murray -
"German doctor's now prescribe St. John's wort
extract 8 times more often than Prozac ... These doctors are knowledgeable
about both medicines, but clearly favor St. John's wort extract. Why? The
simple answer is that St. John's wort produces equal or better results in
relieving depression, but has far fewer side effect. Over 25 double-blind
randomized trials involving a total of 1,757 outpatients with mild to
moderately severe depression have shown St. John's wort extracts
standardized for hypericin to yield excellent results in the treatment in
depression with virtually no side effects"
-
The effect of Hypericum
perforatum on postmenopausal symptoms and depression: A randomized controlled
trial - Complement Ther Med. 2019 Aug;45:109-113 - "Hypericum
perforatum (St John's wort) is an herbal plant that has antidepressant activity
and contains ingredients such as flavonols derivatives, bioflavonoids,
proanthocyanidins, xanthones, phloroglucinol, and naphthodianthrones ... The
frequency and intensity of hot flashes and the score of Kupperman scale
significantly decreased in the H. perforatum group compared to the control group
(p���< 0.001). In addition, the intensity of depression significantly decreased in
the H. perforatum group compared to the control group. At the end of the study,
80% of women in the intervention group did not have depression compared to only
5.7% in the control group (p < 0.001)" - [Nutra
USA] - See
St. John's wort at Amazon.com.
-
Effect
of Hypericum perforatum L. Extract on Insulin Resistance and Lipid Metabolic
Disorder in High-Fat-Diet Induced Obese Mice - Nutrients. 2014 Sep
29;6(10):3981-4001 - "H. perforatum L. extract (EHP)
... These results suggest that EHP may improve insulin resistance and lipid
metabolism in DIO mice" - See
St. John's wort at Amazon.com.
-
Effects
of a Combination of Hypericum perforatum and Vitex agnus-castus on PMS-Like
Symptoms in Late-Perimenopausal Women: Findings from a Subpopulation
Analysis - J Altern Complement Med. 2009 Sep;15(9):1045-8 -
"At the end of the 16-week treatment phase, analyses
of covariance showed the herbal combination to be superior to placebo for
total PMS-like scores (p = 0.02), PMS-D (p = 0.006), and PMS-C clusters (p =
0.027). The active treatment group also showed significant reductions in the
anxiety (p = 0.003) and hydration (p = 0.002) clusters, using paired-samples
t tests. Results of trend analyses showed significant treatment group
effects across the five phases for total PMS and all subscales, all in the
clinically expected direction" - See
St. John's wort at Amazon.com
and
chaste berry products at iHerb.
-
Effects
of Hypericum perforatum (St. John's wort) on hot flashes and quality of life
in perimenopausal women: a randomized pilot trial - Menopause. 2009 Feb
3 - "After 3 months of treatment, compared with the
placebo group, women in the St. John's wort group reported significantly
better menopause-specific quality of life (P = 0.01) and significantly fewer
sleep problems (P = 0.05) ... Hypericum perforatum may improve quality of
life in ways that are important to symptomatic perimenopausal women"
-
St. John's Wort for Depression - Clinical Psychology News, 12/08 -
"The best available evidence suggests that St.
John's wort is better than placebo for treating major depressive disorder,
is as effective as some synthetic antidepressants when used in low to
moderate dosing ranges, and has fewer side effects than do synthetic
antidepressants"
-
St. John's Wort Holds Its Own in Meta-Analysis - Clinical Psychology
News, 11/08 - "St. John's wort was more effective
than placebo and just as effective as standard antidepressants in treating
depression, a Cochrane analysis of 29 studies of almost 5,500 adults with
major depression shows" - See
St. John's wort at Amazon.com.
-
St.
John's Wort Relieves Symptoms Of Major Depression, Study Shows - Science
Daily, 10/13/08 - "Cochrane Researchers reviewed 29
trials which together included 5,489 patients with symptoms of major
depression. All trials employed the commonly used Hamilton Rating Scale for
Depression to assess the severity of depression. In trials comparing St.
John's wort to other remedies, not only were the plant extracts considered
to be equally effective, but fewer patients dropped out of trials due to
adverse effects" - See
St. John's wort at Amazon.com
and
St. John's wort at Amazon.com.
-
St. John’s Wort for Major Depression? - WebMD, 10/10/08 -
"Can taking an herbal supplement be as good as a
prescription medication for people who are severely depressed? ...
Researchers in Germany think so" - See
St. John's wort at Amazon.com
and
St. John's wort at Amazon.com.
-
Taking herb 'helps depression' - BBC News, 10/8/08 -
"Overall, the St John's Wort extracts tested in the
trials were superior to placebo, similarly effective as standard
anti-depressants, and had fewer side effects ... Doctors think it works
because the herb keeps serotonin, a chemical which makes you happy, in the
brain for longer"
-
St. John's Wort and Duloxetine Equally Effective in Mild to Moderate
Depression - Doctor's Guide, 9/1/08 - "Twenty
patients received St. John's Wort at a dosage of 900 mg QD, whereas the
remaining 20 participants were treated with duloxetine 60 30 mg QD ... In
the group of patients suffering from moderate depression, we did not find
any statistically significant differences between the 2 treatment groups"
- See
St. John's wort at Amazon.com.
- St. John's Wort
review - ConsumerLab.com, 2/15/07 -
"most of the herbal supplements that we purchased failed
to meet quality standards. Two contained less St. John's wort compounds than
claimed. Two others were contaminated with cadmium and/or lead. And two more
lacked proper label information"
-
Botanical and dietary supplements for mood and anxiety in menopausal women
- Menopause. 2006 Dec 28 - "Five of seven trials of
St. John's wort for mild to moderate depression showed a significant
improvement"
-
Serotonin syndrome has been reported in patients who used both St. John's
Wort and an SSRI - Clinical Psychiatry News, 11/06 -
"The evidence is strongest for the psychotropic herb
St. John's wort, which appears to induce cytochrome P450 (CYP450) enzyme
systems, particularly 3A4, leading to substantial reductions in drug
substrates, including antivirals and cancer chemotherapy agents"
-
Is St. John's Wort Effective
for Major Depression? - New Hope Natural Media Online, 8/10/06
-
Black Cohosh/St. John’s Wort could ease menopause symptoms
- Nutra USA, 3/2/06 -
"The most common symptom of menopause, “hot flashes”
characterized by sudden waves of body heat, decreased by 53.4 percent among
women who took the Black Cohosh-St. John's Wort combo in the trial, while
psychological, or “psyche”, symptoms reportedly dropped by 56.4 percent"
-
St. John's Wort May Not Stop Major Depression - WebMD, 5/24/05
-
St.
John's Wort Only Minimally Effective In Relieving Major Depression, Review
Confirms - Science Daily, 5/22/05 -
"St. John’s Wort products should be avoided if they
do not provide important content information, such as the amount of total
extract contained, the extraction fluid used and the ratio of raw material
to extract" - Note: Most of the studies I've seen involve the LI 160
extract sold in the US under the
Kira®
brand.
-
St. John's Wort and
Plavix May Be Risky Combo - WebMD, 3/8/05 -
"St. John's wort, used by many for depression,
increases the effect - and the bleeding risk - of Plavix, a widely used
blood thinner"
-
St. John's Wort - Imatinib Drug Interactions
- Medscape, 12/17/04 - "Coadministration of imatinib
with St. John's wort may compromise imatinib's clinical efficacy"
- St. John’s Wort: Good
for More than Depression - Healthwell, 10/21/04 -
"SDs are a group of conditions characterized by
several ongoing physical symptoms that cannot be explained by any
identifiable illness ... Among those participants receiving SJW, 44%
reported being completely improved, compared with only 25% in the placebo
group. In contrast, 45% of the participants in the placebo group felt
unchanged or worse compared with 17% in the SJW group. By the end of the
study, one half of the participants taking SJW had improved so much that
they were no longer considered to have SD"
- St. John's
Wort Thwarts Cancer Drug - WebMD, 10/26/04
-
St John's Wort May Reduce Bioavailability of Conventional Medications
- Doctor's Guide, 7/6/04
- St. John's Wort
Depletes Cancer-Fighting Drug - WebMD, 3/26/04 -
"when St. John's wort is taken in combination with
Gleevec, it caused the amount of Gleevec in the blood to drop by 30%"
- Caution: St.
John's Wort Ingredients Vary - WebMD, 2/10/04
-
What's Really In Your St. John's Wort Tablets? - Intelihealth, 2/9/04 -
"Actual amounts of hypericin ranged from 1.7 to 38.5 percent of the claimed
amount"
-
St. John's Wort - Natural Foods Merchandiser, 10/03 - "Recently, in a
large trial comparing SJW with the conventional antidepressant imipramine,
researchers concluded SJW is as effective as imipramine and is better
tolerated by patients.13 In a newer, larger trial (240 participants)
comparing SJW directly with fluoxetine, researchers concluded SJW was as
effective and safer than fluoxetine, particularly in patients suffering
depression and anxiety"
-
St John's Wort Alters Enzymes Involved in the Metabolism of About 50% of
Over-the-Counter and Prescription Medications
- Doctor's Guide, 9/18/03 -
"long-term administration of
St John's wort may result in diminished clinical effectiveness or
increased dosage requirements for all CYP 3A4
substrates, which represent at least half of marketed medications" -
The way I understand it, the enzyme that SJW increases protects the liver.
JAMA always seems to be biased against supplements, which might be why they
didn't mention that. Have they ever mentioned the
pitfalls of prescription drugs?
- St. John's Wort
Increases Metabolism Via CYP 3A4 - Medscape, 9/16/03
-
St. John's Wort for Depression - Clinical Psychiatry News, 1/03 -
"Most St. John's wort preparations are standardized
to the hypericin component. This compound has been shown to reduce
5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) receptor density; weakly inhibits reuptake of
5-HT,
norepinephrine, and
dopamine; and binds to -aminobutyric acid (GABA)
receptors ... It also has MAO inhibitor activity
... In biochemical and animal studies, the researchers wrote, hyperforin
also inhibits the synaptosomal uptake of 5-HT, noradrenaline, dopamine,
glutamate, and GABA"
-
St. John's Wort May Help Depression in Children - Clinical Psychiatry
News, 1/03
-
Antidepressants Aren't All They're Cracked Up to Be - Clinical
Psychiatry News, 1/03 -
"The fact is, the stringent inclusion and exclusion
criteria routinely used in pharmacologic
antidepressant clinical trials enable investigators to paint an
unrealistically rosy picture of the drugs' performance. This renders the
trials largely irrelevant to real-world clinical practice" - That's
an important consideration with the Pfizer (makers of Zoloft) funded St.
John's wort study.
- St. John's Wort
and Chemo Don't Mix - WebMD, 8/20/02 - "Taking
St. John's wort during chemotherapy could
jeopardize the effectiveness of cancer treatment" - Again, I'm not a
doctor but the way I understand it, SJW increases an enzyme that protects
the liver. It seems like that would be a good thing for most people.
Again, why didn't the media mention that instead of being so one sided?
-
St. John's Wort: Effective, with Caveats - Nutrition Science News, 3/02
-
"Using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, 47
percent of those taking St. John's wort improved compared with 40 percent of
those taking the
sertraline ... Hyperforin increases the effectiveness of
norepinephrine, dopamine, L-glutamate, and
gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), as well as
serotonin. Researchers in the Department of Pharmacology at the
University of Frankfurt in Germany concluded, "no other antidepressant
compound exhibits a similar broad uptake-inhibiting profile.""
- Hypericum, Drug
Interactions, and Liver Effects - Medical Herbalism, Medical Herbalism
(2000)11(2):16) -
"The specific enzyme system whose activity was
increased in the test subjects is the CYP3A, part of the p450 microsomal
enzyme system, responsible for Phase I detoxification in the liver"
- Prozac and I'm sure others alter the P450 enzymes also. See:
-
Characterising Fluvoxamine Metabolism - Doctor's Guide, 4/19/02 -
"the higher fluvoxamine doses inhibited CYP1A2 and
CYP2C19 by approximately 75 to 80 per cent. The inhibition with the lower
doses was around 40 to 50 per cent"
-
A Novel Mechanism For St John's Wort Drug Interactions
- Doctor's Guide, 1/25/02
-
Depression Management - ContinuingEducation.com, exp. 12/31/02 -
"The results of at least one trial suggest that Hypericum, used in higher
doses, may be considered a therapeutic alternative in patients with moderate
to severe depression"
- Evaluation of the
Association Between St. John's Wort and Elevated Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone
- Medscape, 12/01 -
"This study suggests a probable association between
St. John's wort and elevated TSH levels ... In one patient, TSH dropped from
18.63 to 5.37 µU/ml 1 month after discontinuing St. John's wort, and
subsequently to 1.32 µU/ml 6 months later. In the second patient, TSH
decreased from 14.76 to 3.23 µU/ml 1 month after discontinuation of the herb
... Although the similarities between St. John's wort and tricyclic
antidepressant drugs are less clear, it has been postulated that tricyclic
antidepressants interfere with the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis
through noradrenergic or serotonergic systems, indirectly decreasing T4 or
triiodothyronine (T3) levels in the blood"
-
Is St. John's wort an effective treatment for depression? - Nutrition
Science News, 9/01
-
St. John's Wort Vs. Drugs - Nutrition Science News, 6/01 -
"Yet recent clinical trials have shown that St.
John's wort works as well as Prozac, Zoloft and other leading antidepressant
drugs for treating mild to moderate depression"
- Hypericin May Be Potential
Candidate For Treating Esophageal Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 5/22/01 -
"Hypericin, the active ingredient in St. John’s Wort, a popular herbal
remedy for depression, may be a potential candidate for treating esophageal
and other tumors"
-
Effects of long-term administration of hypericum extracts on the affinity
and density of the central serotonergic 5-HT1 A and 5-HT2 A receptors -
Pharmacopsychiatry 1997 Sep;30 Suppl 2:113-6 -
"the number of both 5-HT1 A and 5-HT2 A receptors
were significantly increased by 50% compared to controls"
-
Popular Herb Works for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - WebMD, 8/17/00
-
Herb May Curb PMS - WebMD, 8/7/00
-
St. John's Wort Passes Muster - Nutrition Science News, 4/00
- Hypericum, Drug
Interatcions, and Liver Effects - MedHerb.com, 2/00 -
"Endogenous hormones metabolized by the CYP3A enzyme system - estradiol,
estriol, testosterone, cortisol"
- Study 20 - The Hypericum
Homepage - "Both serum-cortisol
and serum-prolactin
were lowered significantly after three weeks of treatment with hypericum
extract in male rats."
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