OFF TOPIC? - Fw: [HealthyIndia] St John's Wort plant as effective as Prozac for treating depression'

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram. Sharing with you an article, probably useful. Some sensitive patients

may start proving of Hypericum with continued usage and high potency doses of

the same Hypericum may help in anti-doting the provings. In any case, it is

better than using Prozac, but if some one is already using anti-depressants, use

this herb only after consulting the doctor. Don't stop the antidepressants

immediately! That is important!

 

Best wishes.

 

Swamy

 

 

 

--- On Fri, 12/26/08, Raven <NWRaven wrote:

 

Raven <NWRaven

[HealthyIndia] St John's Wort plant as effective as Prozac for treating

depression'

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Health-From-Nature " <Health-From-Nature >, " 1 HH "

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<quackwatch >

Friday, December 26, 2008, 1:49 PM

 

 

St John's Wort plant as effective as Prozac for treating depression',

say scientists

http://www.dailymai l.co.uk/health/ article-1072414/ St-Johns- Wort-plant-

effective- Prozac-treating- depression- say-scientists. html

 

By Daniel Martin

Last updated at 2:02 PM on 08th

October 2008

 

 

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It has long been a happy alternative for those reluctant to pop pills

for depression.

 

But the herbal extract St John's Wort now has more than just cheerful

converts to testify to its mood-lifting powers.

 

In what is billed as the most thorough study of the plant, scientists

have found it is just as effective as Prozac at treating

depression. 

 

 

Plant power: Herbal extract from St John's Wort is

thought to be just as effective as Prozac for treating depression, say

scientists

 

It also had fewer side effects than many standard drugs used to help

those battling despair.

 

Researchers compared the effects of the plant hypericum perforatum -

popularly known as St John's Wort - with placebos or a wide range of old

and new anti-depressants, including those from the new generation of SSRI

drugs, such as Prozac and Seroxat.

 

The findings could prompt more GPs to prescribe St John's Wort.

 

 

In Germany, it is commonly given to children and teenagers.

 

Experts do not know exactly how the plant lifts depression, although

most believe it probably works by keeping the chemical serotonin, which is

linked to positive moods, in the brain for longer.

 

The study's lead author, Dr Klaus Linde, from the Centre for

Complementary Medicine in Munich, pooled data from 29 studies involving

5,489 patients with mild to moderately severe depression.

 

'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 than standard anti-depressants, ' he said.

 

But he pointed out that St John's Wort products available in health

food shops and chemists differed greatly and some may be more effective

than others.

 

'Using a St John's Wort extract might be justified but products on the

market vary considerably, so these results only apply to the preparations

tested,' he explained.

 

The findings were published by the Cochrane Library, which specialises

in systematic reviews of research studies.

 

A separate study has found St John's Wort, available in countless

health shops, is the only alternative medicine proven to have an effect.

 

 

Others, including ginseng, liquid tonic, cat's claw, gingko biloba and

royal jelly, had no firm base in evidence and could be dangerous when

taken with other drugs, according to the study by St James' University

Hospital in Leeds.

 

Some other studies however have indicated that St John's Wort may

interfere with the effectiveness of the contraceptive pill.

 

Other reported effects have included dizziness, tiredness and hair

loss.

 

The extract has become a popular alternative to anti-depressants such

as Prozac and Seroxat in recent years following fears over the safety of

SSRI (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor) drugs.

 

Doctors have been told not to prescribe most SSRIs to under-18s because

of an increased risk of suicide.

 

Experts have also said they could not rule out a suicide risk to older

users.

Another study found that pregnant women who take SSRI drugs were at

risk of having babies with birth defects such as cleft palates and heart

problems.

 

Four out of five GPs have admitted overprescribing Prozac and similar

drugs.

 

They blamed a lack of suitable alternatives, including behavioural

therapy and social care as well as medicines.