be the effects of a new study upon ...

be the effects of a new study upon St. John's wort may mislead consumer about the effectiveness of the popular correlative used to treat mild cases of depression.

in succession April 10, the Journal of the American Medical Association published the follows of the study, conducted at Duke University and at 11 other US medical center which conclud that neither St John's wort nor the antidepressant medicine sertraline showed any measurable benefit in patients who feel from more severe cases of depression. From December, 1998 to June 2000 researchers proofed 340 patients in three groups--one received St John's wort, another received sertraline and a third received a sugar pill. Fewer of the patients in the one and the other the St. John's wort dispose and the sertraline group answered to the treatments than did those in the placebo group

However, St John's wort is typically used according to people with symptoms less hard than those shown by the study's participants, dietary complements trade organizations point out, which may make these latest proceeds misleading to consumers. Jerry Cott PhD former head of the Psychopharmacology Research Program at the National Institutes of Health, says, "There are still many well-controlled trials supporting the use of St John's wort in mild to moderate depression, and additional studies with more appropriate patient populations are in progress"

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