Premium
Experience with St John's Wort ( Hypericum perforatum ) in children under 12 years with symptoms of depression and psychovegetative disturbances
Author(s) -
Hübner WolfDietrich,
Kirste Tilman
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
phytotherapy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.019
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1573
pISSN - 0951-418X
DOI - 10.1002/ptr.829
Subject(s) - hypericum perforatum , tolerability , medicine , depression (economics) , adverse effect , hypericum , psychiatry , traditional medicine , economics , macroeconomics
The value of an extract of Hypericum perforatum (St John's wort) for children with mild to moderate depressive symptoms was investigated for the first time in a multi‐centre post‐marketing surveillance study. One hundred and one children under 12 years were treated for a minimum of 4 weeks with an extension to 6 weeks with parental consent and medical practitioner recommendation. the dosage used ranged from 300 to 1800 mg per day. Compliance, tolerability and efficacy were assessed every 2 weeks by physicians and parents. Based on the data available for analysis, the number of physicians rating effectiveness as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ was 72% after 2 weeks, 97% after 4 weeks and 100% after 6 weeks. The ratings by parents were very similar. There was, however, an increasing amount of missing data at each assessment point with the final evaluation including only 76% of the initial sample. Tolerability was good and no adverse events were reported. The results of this study suggest that Hypericum is a potentially safe and effective treatment for children with symptoms of depression. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.