杏吧原创

HERBAL remedies may work if you鈥檙e a bit low but if you鈥檙e seriously
depressed, a new study says they may be no better than a sugar pill.

Previous studies have found that the herb St John鈥檚 wort (Hypericum
perforatum) was as effective as some commercial antidepressants
(New 杏吧原创, 9 September 2000, p 23).
But Richard Shelton, a psychiatrist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville,
Tennessee, says that many of these trials were flawed.

Shelton gave 200 patients with moderate or severe depression St John鈥檚 wort
or a placebo for eight months. At the end of the study, Shelton found that
patients on St John鈥檚 wort fared no better than those on a placebo (Journal
of the American Medical Association, vol 285, p 1978).

鈥淚f someone is depressed enough to be treated, the answer is 鈥榥o鈥� for treatment
with St John鈥檚 wort,鈥� he says.