Parkinson's Disease Tulip


advertisement
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 01-30-2009, 05:15 AM #1
smithclayriley's Avatar
smithclayriley smithclayriley is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Nanaimo, BC Canada
Posts: 189
15 yr Member
smithclayriley smithclayriley is offline
Member
smithclayriley's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Nanaimo, BC Canada
Posts: 189
15 yr Member
Default St John's Wort is effective after all

I was surprised when I read that St John's Wort was actually effective. It was hyped for a while and then I read it was ineffective. Another case of "big pharma" lying to make money. The makers of Zoloft, who are huge in anti-depressant sales is the guilty party. Wow, the more you read the more it says to me........go natural if you can. Think of the money you will save until the Government gets involved and they are well on their way to that end.

Hypericum, the active ingredient in St John's wort, appears to be an effective mood-brightener and anxiolytic - by today's standards at least. Its side-effect profile and efficacy in mild-to-moderate depression compares favourably with its synthetic counterparts. Hypericum's blend of serotonin-reuptake inhibiting and (mild) MAO-inhibiting properties (not a combination otherwise to be explored with potent synthetics: the risk of the potentially fatal serotonin syndrome is too great) contributes to - without wholly explaining - its generally benign effects. Once again, much more research is needed, preferably not bankrolled by the makers of lucrative competing products. Thus a German trial published in the British Medical Journal in February 2005 reported that a proprietary standardised extract of hypericum/St John's wort was more effective and a better tolerated treatment of moderate to severe depression than the SSRI paroxetine (Paxil). This runs counter to the negative findings of the 2001 U.S. trial sponsored by the makers of the SSRI sertraline (Zoloft) - which concluded that for moderate to severe depression, St John's wort was no better than a placebo. Faith in the integrity of biological psychiatry would be greater if the single strongest predictive factor in the outcome of any published clinical trial wasn't the identity of the funding body. A Cochrane Review published in October 2008 found that hypericum extracts used to treat major depression had similar efficacy to standard antidepressants but fewer side-effects.
__________________
"Trust your nervous system" - Timothy Leary

Last edited by smithclayriley; 01-30-2009 at 05:16 AM. Reason: did not edit, hit edit in error
smithclayriley is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
"Thanks for this!" says:
armac (02-01-2009)

advertisement
Old 02-28-2009, 08:52 PM #2
Bob from Canada Bob from Canada is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 6
15 yr Member
Bob from Canada Bob from Canada is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 6
15 yr Member
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by smithclayriley View Post
I was surprised when I read that St John's Wort was actually effective. It was hyped for a while and then I read it was ineffective. Another case of "big pharma" lying to make money. The makers of Zoloft, who are huge in anti-depressant sales is the guilty party. Wow, the more you read the more it says to me........go natural if you can. Think of the money you will save until the Government gets involved and they are well on their way to that end.

Hypericum, the active ingredient in St John's wort, appears to be an effective mood-brightener and anxiolytic - by today's standards at least. Its side-effect profile and efficacy in mild-to-moderate depression compares favourably with its synthetic counterparts. Hypericum's blend of serotonin-reuptake inhibiting and (mild) MAO-inhibiting properties (not a combination otherwise to be explored with potent synthetics: the risk of the potentially fatal serotonin syndrome is too great) contributes to - without wholly explaining - its generally benign effects. Once again, much more research is needed, preferably not bankrolled by the makers of lucrative competing products. Thus a German trial published in the British Medical Journal in February 2005 reported that a proprietary standardised extract of hypericum/St John's wort was more effective and a better tolerated treatment of moderate to severe depression than the SSRI paroxetine (Paxil). This runs counter to the negative findings of the 2001 U.S. trial sponsored by the makers of the SSRI sertraline (Zoloft) - which concluded that for moderate to severe depression, St John's wort was no better than a placebo. Faith in the integrity of biological psychiatry would be greater if the single strongest predictive factor in the outcome of any published clinical trial wasn't the identity of the funding body. A Cochrane Review published in October 2008 found that hypericum extracts used to treat major depression had similar efficacy to standard antidepressants but fewer side-effects.
Hi, we are almost neighbours, I'm in Delta - are you taking St Johns Wart and if so, has it been beneficial at all?
Bob from Canada is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
Old 03-01-2009, 04:12 PM #3
lurkingforacure lurkingforacure is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,485
15 yr Member
lurkingforacure lurkingforacure is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,485
15 yr Member
Default study funding

Does anyone know who funded the study saying St. Johns' wort was effective? (and please, don't let it be any of the companies who sell the stuff...)
lurkingforacure is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
St. John's Wort Tablets - Depression - works for me! gerbil Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Concussion Syndrome 2 05-04-2008 08:35 PM


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:53 PM.

Powered by vBulletin • Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.

vBulletin Optimisation provided by vB Optimise v2.7.1 (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
 

NeuroTalk Forums

Helping support those with neurological and related conditions.

 

The material on this site is for informational purposes only,
and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment
provided by a qualified health care provider.


Always consult your doctor before trying anything you read here.