Treatment of Major Depression With St. John's Wort (Hypericum)

Summary

The purpose of this trial is to study the acute efficacy and safety of a standardized extract of the herb Hypericum perforatum (St. John's Wort), called hypericum for purposes of this trial, in the treatment of patients with major depression. Clinical depression is a serious medical disorder that can be debilitating and can lead to suicide. There is growing public interest in claims that hypericum may be an effective treatment for depression. Although it is widely prescribed in Europe, no studies of its long-term use have been conducted, and published studies have treated different types of patients and have used several different doses. The toxicity and side effects of hypericum appear to be substantially less than those of standard tricyclic antidepressant medications, and thus hypericum may be more acceptable to patients. In addition, the cost is significantly less than standard antidepressant medications. Published studies assessed acute efficacy and lasted between 4 and 12 weeks (most being 4-6 weeks). The longer-term effects of hypericum have not been evaluated. There is a need for a large-scale, controlled clinical trial to assess whether Hypericum has a significant therapeutic effect in patients with clinical depression. Patients are assigned randomly (like tossing a coin) to receive St. John's wort, Sertraline (Zoloft), or a placebo (sugar pill) for 8 weeks. This is a double-blind study, meaning neither the patient nor the doctor will know which treatment is being assigned. Patients who respond well to the treatment will continue on the assigned treatment for an additional 4 months. Patients will have regular follow-up visits to monitor their symptoms and any side effects they experience.

Timeline

Start

1998-12

Primary completion

—

Completion

2001-07

Outcome

Missed primary endpoint

paper On the 2 primary outcome measures, neither sertraline nor H perforatum was significantly different from placebo. PMID 11939866 ↗

Publications

• Results Hypericum Depression Trial Study Group; Davidson JR, Gadde KM, Fairbank JA, Krishnan KRR, Califf RM, Binanay C, Parker CB, Pugh N, Hartwell TD, Vitiello B, Ritz L, Severe J, Cole JO, de Battista C, Doraiswamy PM, Feighner JP, Keck P, Kelsey J, Lin KM, Londborg PD, Nemeroff CB, Schatzberg AF, Sheehan DV, Srivastava RK, Taylor L, Trivedi MH, Weisler RH. Effect of Hypericum perforatum (St John's wort) in major depressive disorder: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2002 Apr 10;287(14):1807-14. doi: 10.1001/jama.287.14.1807.
• Results Vitiello B, Shader RI, Parker CB, Ritz L, Harlan W, Greenblatt DJ, Gadde KM, Krishnan KR, Davidson JR. Hyperforin plasma level as a marker of treatment adherence in the National Institutes of Health Hypericum Depression Trial. J Clin Psychopharmacol. 2005 Jun;25(3):243-9. doi: 10.1097/01.jcp.0000162801.72002.85.
• Chen JA, Vijapura S, Papakostas GI, Parkin SR, Kim DJ, Cusin C, Baer L, Clain AJ, Fava M, Mischoulon D. Association between physician beliefs regarding assigned treatment and clinical response: re-analysis of data from the Hypericum Depression Trial Study Group. Asian J Psychiatr. 2015 Feb;13:23-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ajp.2014.12.002. Epub 2014 Dec 9.
• Grobler AC, Matthews G, Molenberghs G. The impact of missing data on clinical trials: a re-analysis of a placebo controlled trial of Hypericum perforatum (St Johns wort) and sertraline in major depressive disorder. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2014 May;231(9):1987-99. doi: 10.1007/s00213-013-3344-x.
• Sarris J, Fava M, Schweitzer I, Mischoulon D. St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) versus sertraline and placebo in major depressive disorder: continuation data from a 26-week RCT. Pharmacopsychiatry. 2012 Nov;45(7):275-8. doi: 10.1055/s-0032-1306348. Epub 2012 May 16.
• Chen JA, Papakostas GI, Youn SJ, Baer L, Clain AJ, Fava M, Mischoulon D. Association between patient beliefs regarding assigned treatment and clinical response: reanalysis of data from the Hypericum Depression Trial Study Group. J Clin Psychiatry. 2011 Dec;72(12):1669-76. doi: 10.4088/JCP.10m06453. Epub 2011 Oct 4.

Drugs

Indications