The Risk–Benefit Profile of Commonly Used Herbal Therapies

Letters17 December 2002The Risk–Benefit Profile of Commonly Used Herbal TherapiesEdzard Ernst, MD, PhD, FRCP(Edin)Edzard Ernst, MD, PhD, FRCP(Edin)University of Exeter; Exeter EX2 4NT, United KingdomSearch for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-137-12-200212170-00024 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail IN RESPONSE:I could not include the negative trial of St. John's wort by Shelton and colleagues (1) because it was published after I submitted my article to Annals. However, I do not agree that this trial, although rigorous, calls into question the results of previous meta-analyses. First, one trial cannot outweigh dozens of previously published studies. Second, and more important, Shelton and colleagues examined severe depression, while the vast majority of the previous investigations included only patients with mild to moderate depression. St. John's wort may well work for one type of depression but not for the other.Reference1. Shelton RC, Keller MB, Gelenberg A, Dunner DL, Hirschfeld R, Thase ME, et al . Effectiveness of St John's wort in major depression: a randomized, controlled trial. JAMA. 2001;285:1978-86. [PMID: 11308434] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Edzard Ernst, MD, PhD, FRCP(Edin)Affiliations: University of Exeter; Exeter EX2 4NT, United Kingdom PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoThe Risk–Benefit Profile of Commonly Used Herbal Therapies: Ginkgo, St. John's Wort, Ginseng, Echinacea, Saw Palmetto, and Kava Edzard Ernst The Risk–Benefit Profile of Commonly Used Herbal Therapies Sanford H. Levy Metrics 17 December 2002Volume 137, Issue 12Page: 1008 ePublished: 17 December 2002 Issue Published: 17 December 2002 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2002 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...