The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

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  • Recent Comments

    St John’s Wort in ADHD

    In children, St John’s Wort (H. perforatum) did not improve symptoms.

    First, the details.

    • 54 children aged 6 to 17 years with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were randomly assigned to H. perforatum 300 mg of standardized to 0.3% hypericin or placebo taken 3 times daily for 8 weeks.
    • Other medications for ADHD were not allowed during the study.

    And, the results.

    • No significant difference in the change in ADHD Rating Scale–IV scores (a measure of treatment response) between groups.
    • There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in the Clinical Global Impression Improvement Scale (another measure of treatment response).
    • No difference between groups in adverse effects.

    The bottom line
    “To our knowledge, this is the first placebo-controlled trial of H. perforatum in children and adolescents. The results of this study suggest that administration of H. perforatum has no additional benefit beyond that of placebo for treating symptoms of child and adolescent ADHD,” the authors concluded.

    6/10/08 20:39 JR

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