Researchers from the University of Sydney in Australia have reviewed the evidence in children and adolescents.
The authors include data from adults, because if they limited the discussion to children and adolescents it would be a very short article.
That’s not a problem here. Continue reading CAM for psychiatric disorders in kids
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore have reviewed natural health products (NHPs) and antiretroviral drugs (ARVs). Here are the results
Continue reading Interactions between supplements and drugs used to treat AIDS
In children, St John’s Wort (H. perforatum) did not improve symptoms. Continue reading St John’s Wort in ADHD
The FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition’s Adverse Event Reporting System (CAERS) represents one of the few existing surveillance mechanisms.
Here’s a list of the 6 most frequently used and how they rate for reports of adverse events. Continue reading CAERS reports on supplement safety
In a pharmacy continuing education newsletter (InetCE 221-999-05-056-H01), Dr. Mary Chavez states, “St. John’s wort is the most studied herbal, and has the most evidence for significant interactions with medications.”
From her article, documented herbal-drug interactions based on reliable case reports, case series, or clinical investigations are presented below. I listed only generic drug names. A useful link to identify brand names from generic names is found here. Dr. Chavez includes more detailed information in the newsletter.
A review published in American Family Physician covers a broad range of herbal and dietary supplements for treating anxiety disorders.
I’ll focus on the best of the lot, kava (Piper methysticum). You can read the rest of the article here. Continue reading Compiling the evidence for kava to treat anxiety
Here’s a review by researchers at the University of Illinois, Chicago that focuses on the scientific support for the use of herbals in women during menopause. It differs a bit in its conclusions from a more general review posted here recently.
Both reviews list St. John’s wort as the most useful herbal for alleviating mood and anxiety changes during menopause. Continue reading Herbal options to treat mood and anxiety in menopausal women
Dr. Philip Hansten from the University of Washington School of Pharmacy has spent more than 30 years chronicling and documenting drug interactions.
In an article in Pharmacy Times, he and Dr. John Horn focus on the risks for people with diabetes or taking blood thinners. Continue reading Getting specific about CAM-drug interactions
Dr. Kathleen Kendall-Tackett is a health psychologist and a board certified lactation consultant from the University of New Hampshire in Durham. Her work focuses on family violence and perinatal health.
Here are her thoughts on postpartum depression. Continue reading Why new mums get depressed and what to do about it
In 2003, Professor Edzard Ernst writing on the Cochrane Collaboration website concluded, “Compared with placebo, kava extract is an effective symptomatic treatment for anxiety although, at present, the size of the effect seems small.” Continue reading A critical review of herbals to treat anxiety and depression
There are doctors in Germany who are working overtime to convince us that black cohosh is a valuable treatment for menopausal symptoms.
I’m not buying it. But then, I’m not in menopause. Continue reading Trying hard to generate positive research results for black cohosh
This is depressing. The number one problem facing herbal medicines today is the inability (or something) on the part of manufacturers to ensure quality control in the manufacturing of their products.
Here’s the latest on St. John’s wort.
In 1993, Senator Orrin Hatch said, “most of these [herbal remedies] have been on the market for 4,000 years, and the real issue is risk. And there is not much risk in any of these products.”
Now, the American Association of Poison Control Centers defines that risk after more than 20 years of data collection.
Continue reading Poison control centers report on the safety of supplements
Here are the results of a study in 301 women experiencing climacteric complaints with psychological symptoms.
The women were treated with black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) and St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) extracts, or a placebo for 16 weeks.
The results
Continue reading Black cohosh and St. John’s wort in women during the climacteric
These data are from a telephone survey of more than 2500 randomly sampled noninstitutionalized Americans, which was published in 2002. The tables can also be found here. Continue reading The most commonly used vitamins and herbals
A review article published in 2001 identified 8 clinical studies in which St. John’s wort was more effective than placebo in treating mild to moderate depression. “The absolute increased response rate with the use of St. John’s wort ranged from 23% to 55% higher than with placebo, but ranged from 6% to 18% lower compared with tricyclic antidepressants.”
 People with HIV/AIDS commonly take herbals and vitamins, often without the knowledge of their doctor.
Here are examples of interactions with antiretroviral drugs that might be harmful. Continue reading Risk of herbals and vitamins in HIV/AIDS
Cyclosporine (Sandimmune, Neoral) is used to prevent organ rejection following kidney, liver, and heart transplants. It may also be used to treat chronic rejection in patients previously treated with other immunosuppressive agents.
The information in this article should be valuable for people taking cyclosporine for its immunosuppressant effect, and for pharmacists and other healthcare professionals who are monitoring this therapy.
Interactions between cyclosporine and St. John’s wort and rosemary are discussed. In addition, it reviews the purported immunostimulating effects of certain herbals and herbal medicines that are potential nephrotoxins.
Illustration: University of Texas
8/11/06 20:38 JR