Researchers with the Department of Psychiatry at Amager Hospital in Denmark studied the efficacy of St. John’s Wort compared with placebo in patients with minor depressive symptoms or dysthymia, the main focus being on which diagnostic entities are optimally amenable to treatment with two different doses of Hypericum, and which are not.
One hundred fifty patients, aged 25-70 years, who met the criteria for mild to moderately severe depressed episodes, or with dysthymia, were randomly assigned to an extract. The extract, PM235, manufactured by Cederroth International AB in Sweden, was given in lower or higher formulations to participants.
Measures were conducted at screening, baseline, and after 3 and 6 weeks of treatment. The results of the trial showed a large discrepancy in response between dysthymic and non-dysthymics, the latter seemingly more sensitive to Hypericum. Tendency, but no significance, was shown toward a more frequent improvement of the non-dysthymics treated with Hypericum compared to the placebo.
Pooling high- and low-dose groups together, a significant reduction for Hamilton Depression Scale for Depression (HAM-D) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) criteria was found among non-dysthymic patients.
Significant improvement in response to Hypericum was found in symptoms reflected only in non-dysthymic patients.
The researchers observed a tendency toward a more frequent significant improvement of the non-dysthymic patient treated with PM235, though this did not reach the level of statistical significance. In a secondary analysis, pooling both groups together concluded that Hypericum has a clinically significant effect some in minor depressed patients. This finding too was significant only in non-dysthymic patients.
© Copyright 2007 Insight Journal Online Magazine.
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