Depression Symptoms Facts:
- In one NIMH supported study, more than 40 percent of people with PTSD also had depression when evaluated at one month and four months following the traumatic event.
- Medications alone appear to be helpful in approximately 50% of the cases.
- Depression has been found to occur at a higher rate among people who have other serious illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, HIV, diabetes, and Parkinsons.
Herbal Therapy
In the past several years, there has been an increase in public interest in the use of herbs for the treatment of both depression and anxiety. The extract from St. Johns wort (Hypericum perforatum), a wild growing plant with yellow flowers, has been used extensively in Europe as a treatment for mild to moderate depression, and it now ranks among the top selling botanical products in the United States. Because of the increase in Americans use of St. Johns wort and the need to answer important remaining questions about the herbs efficacy for long term treatment of depression, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) conducted a clinical trial to determine whether a well standardized extract of St. Johns wort is effective in the treatment of adults suffering from major depression of moderate severity. The trial found that St. Johns wort was no more effective for treating major depression of moderate severity than an inert pill (placebo). Another study is underway looking at St. Johns wort for the treatment of minor depression.
Research from NIH has shown that St. Johns wort interacts with some drugs including certain drugs used to control HIV infection. The Food and Drug Administration issued a Public Health Advisory on February 10, 2000, which stated that the herb appears to affect an important metabolic pathway that many prescription drugs use to treat conditions such as heart disease, depression, seizures, certain cancers, and rejection of organ transplants. The same pathway is also responsible for the effectiveness of oral contraceptives to prevent pregnancy. Using the herb may limit the effectiveness of these medications. People taking HIV medications should be especially careful since St. Johns wort may reduce the HIV medication levels in the bloodstream and could allow the AIDS virus to rebound, perhaps in a drug resistant form. Health care providers should alert their patients about these potential drug interactions, and patients should always consult their health care provider before taking any herbal supplement.
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