RE: [Fwd: St. swort] better formatted

[Guest guest]

St. swort effective for depression, study says

German research concludes popular herb works

The herbal remedy St. swort is as effective as one of the most commonly

prescribed drugs for treating depression and should be considered a standard

treatment, according to a new study.

In fact, researchers at Giessen University in Germany concluded that St.

swort is the best choice for people with mild or moderate depression

because they are far less likely to suffer side effects than they would with

manufactured pharmaceuticals.

Writing in today's edition of the British Medical Journal,

scientists report on a study conducted in 40 outpatient mental health

clinics throughout Germany.

They randomly prescribed patients diagnosed with mild and

moderate forms of depression with either hypericum perforatum (St. swort

extract) or imipramine, a standard antidepressant. They took two pills daily

for six weeks.

Dr. Helmut Woelk, medical director at the university, said that at the end

of the study patients had made similar improvements (as measured on standard

depression scales) regardless of the treatment option.

Those who took St. swort, however, were five times more likely to take

their pills daily.

The principal reason for better compliance, Dr. Woelk said, is that the

patients taking the herbal remedy were half as likely to suffer side

effects.

St. swort has been used medicinally since ancient Greece. Hippocrates,

for example, described it as an effective treatment for demonic possession.

But the German researchers said theirs is the biggest ever clinical trial of

St. swort.

Herbal remedies and alternative treatments are growing rapidly in

popularity.

The market in Canada alone is estimated at $3-billion annually. But

mainstream physicians and researchers often complain that touted benefits

are unproven because most of the drugs do not undergo the rigorous testing

required of pharmaceutical products.

Dr. Woelk said this strict methodology is a must, but said many researchers

are also too quick to dismiss the powers of herbal remedies, and a study

such as this one can demonstrate whether claims of benefits will hold up.

" The results of this study support the conclusion that the two treatments

are therapeutically equivalent, " he said.

St. swort is available over-the-counter in Canada, Britain, and the

United States.

[Guest guest]

St. swort effective for depression, study says

German research concludes popular herb works

The herbal remedy St. swort is as effective as one of the most commonly

prescribed drugs for treating depression and should be considered a standard

treatment, according to a new study.

In fact, researchers at Giessen University in Germany concluded that St.

swort is the best choice for people with mild or moderate depression

because they are far less likely to suffer side effects than they would with

manufactured pharmaceuticals.

Writing in today's edition of the British Medical Journal,

scientists report on a study conducted in 40 outpatient mental health

clinics throughout Germany.

They randomly prescribed patients diagnosed with mild and

moderate forms of depression with either hypericum perforatum (St. swort

extract) or imipramine, a standard antidepressant. They took two pills daily

for six weeks.

Dr. Helmut Woelk, medical director at the university, said that at the end

of the study patients had made similar improvements (as measured on standard

depression scales) regardless of the treatment option.

Those who took St. swort, however, were five times more likely to take

their pills daily.

The principal reason for better compliance, Dr. Woelk said, is that the

patients taking the herbal remedy were half as likely to suffer side

effects.

St. swort has been used medicinally since ancient Greece. Hippocrates,

for example, described it as an effective treatment for demonic possession.

But the German researchers said theirs is the biggest ever clinical trial of

St. swort.

Herbal remedies and alternative treatments are growing rapidly in

popularity.

The market in Canada alone is estimated at $3-billion annually. But

mainstream physicians and researchers often complain that touted benefits

are unproven because most of the drugs do not undergo the rigorous testing

required of pharmaceutical products.

Dr. Woelk said this strict methodology is a must, but said many researchers

are also too quick to dismiss the powers of herbal remedies, and a study

such as this one can demonstrate whether claims of benefits will hold up.

" The results of this study support the conclusion that the two treatments

are therapeutically equivalent, " he said.

St. swort is available over-the-counter in Canada, Britain, and the

United States.