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Re: Zoloft no better than placebo

Posted by Mitchell on April 13, 2002, at 10:07:43

In reply to Re: St. John's Wort No Better Than Placebo , posted by misty99 on April 13, 2002, at 7:23:40

The following excerpts from the study might be informative. Zoloft (made by Pfizer) proved no more effective than the herb or than placebo. The author disclosed financial ties to Pfizer. The link will take you to the full text of the JAMA article.

Results: On the 2 primary outcome measures, neither sertraline nor H perforatum was significantly different from placebo.

Dr Johnathon Davidson holds stock in Pfizer, American Home Products, GlaxoSmithKline, Procter and Gamble, and Triangle Pharmaceuticals; has received speaker fees from Solvay, Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Wyeth-Ayerst, Lichtwer, and the American Psychiatric Association; has been a scientific advisor to Allergan, Solvay, Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Forest Pharmaceuticals Inc, Eli Lilly, Ancile, Roche, Novartis, and Organon; has received research support from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Pfizer, Solvay, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Wyeth-Ayerst, Organon, Forest Pharmaceuticals Inc, PureWorld, Allergan, and Nutrition 21; has received drugs for studies from Eli Lilly, Schwabe, Nutrition 21, PureWorld Botanicals, and Pfizer; and has received royalties from MultiHealth Systems Inc, Guilford Publications, and the American Psychiatric Association

http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v287n14/rfull/joc11936.html

***************************************

If anyone has questions about the effectiveness of St. John's Wort in treating mild to moderate depression, the following excerpt from McLean Hospital Psychiatric Update might be helpful:

St. John’s wort as an antidepressant

McLean Hospital Psychiatric Update, June 1998

Contributed by Dr. Scott E. Ewing, Director of McLean Hospital’s Depression & Anxiety Disorders Outpatient Service and an Instructor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School

McLean is the largest psychiatric teaching facility of Harvard Medical School, an affiliate of Massachusetts General Hospital.

Evidence of Efficacy: Extracts of hypericum are more efficacious than placebo in treating mild to moderately severe depressive disorders. At least 23 randomized trials with more than 1,750 outpatients support this conclusion. Fifteen studies were placebo controlled and eight compared hypericum with other drug treatments. In 13 trials comparing a single hypericum preparation with placebo, 22.3% responded to placebo versus 55.1% in the hypericum groups. In trials comparing single preparations of hypericum with standard antidepressants, 63.9% of the patients receiving hypericum responded versus 58.5% of those taking standard antidepressants.

Summary: Based on currently available evidence, St. John’s wort is probably effective in treating outpatients with mild to moderate depression. Its efficacy in treating severely depressed inpatients and its safety for long-term administration have not been systematically evaluated. St. John’s wort appears to be better tolerated than older cyclic antidepressants and may be useful in patients who are unable to take synthetic antidepressants. No controlled studies support combining St. John’s wort with prescription antidepressants and the safety of such combinations has not been evaluated.

http://www.mcleanhospital.org/psychupdate/psyup1998_06.htm


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poster:Mitchell thread:102603
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020408/msgs/102951.html