[recycled post, with a few text edits; original here]
Hmm. Was I wrong in concluding that St. John’s Wort was little more than placebo? (Mind you, I have been wrong before and will be wrong again.) I had come to that conclusion after encountering and reading a well-designed and controlled study conducted in the good ole U.S. of A.
So I was a bit surprised when my eyes hit upon this headline: St. John’s Wort Relieves Symptoms Of Major Depression, Study Shows. The article states:
New research provides support for the use of St. John’s wort extracts in treating major depression. A Cochrane Systematic Review backs up previous research that showed the plant extract is effective in treating mild to moderate depressive disorders.
“Overall, we found that the St. John’s wort extracts tested in the trials were superior to placebos and as effective as standard antidepressants, with fewer side effects,” says lead researcher, Klaus Linde of the Centre for Complementary Medicine in Munich, Germany.
Hmm. The “new research,” was a systematic review of previously conducted research. In other words, the new research wasn’t a meta-analysis, which itself would necessitate a grain of salt to accept. It was a “Chochrane Systematic Review.” What, pray tell, is that? As far as I can tell it is a methodological review of research findings contained in the Chochrane database. The method employed depends upon the author. Interestingly, nearly all of the positive studies were conducted in Germany. Why is that?
Alright, so maybe I’ll refine my conclusion. St. John’s Wort may be effective, but the jury is still out.
Here are a couple questions I have.
1) Does it matter that the reviewer is from the “Centre for Complementary Medicine in Munich, Germany”? (Maybe?)
2) How is this complimentary medicine? Rename St. John’s Wort as, say, hyperizoft (i.e. tag the extract of the active ingredient — Hypericum perforatum — with a pharma-sounding name, and would one continue to believe this type of medicine belongs in a distinct category?
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