Friday October 3 1:51 PM EDT

NIH Studies St. John's Wort

WESTPORT (Reuters) -- The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced
Wednesday that it has initiated the first U.S. trials of St. John's wort, an
herb used in Europe to treat patients with depression.

According to an NIH press release, the three-year study is sponsored by the
NIH's Office of Alternative Medicine, the National Institute of Mental
Health, and the Office of Dietary Supplements. The trial will involve 336
patients with major depression, of whom one-third will receive a 900
milligram (mg) daily dose of St. John's wort, one-third will receive a
placebo, and one-third will receive a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor.

Study participants who respond positively to St. John's wort will be
followed for another 18 weeks. The goal of follow-up is to determine if
patients who receive St. John's wort experience fewer relapses than patients
given placebo.

Dr. Steven E. Hyman, director of the National Institute of Mental Health,
said, "This study will give us definitive answers about whether St. John's
wort works for clinical depression. The study will be the first rigorous
clinical trial of the herb that will be large enough and long enough to
fully assess whether it produces a therapeutic effect."

Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina will conduct the
trial. Patient enrollment will begin next spring.

Depression affects more than 17 million adult Americans each year, costing
up to $44 million in treatment, disability, and lost productivity --
comparable to the cost of heart disease, say the NIH.
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