Hypericum vs Fluoxetine for Mild to Moderate Adolescent Depression

Summary

The study is a pilot study where adolescents 12 - 18 years of age with mild to moderate depression will be randomized to receive either hypericum 250mg twice daily or fluoxetine 10mg daily increased to 20mg daily after 1 week and the option to increase to 40mg daily after 4 weeks. Patients will be treated for a total of 8 weeks. Efficacy will be measured using the CDRS-R, BDI-II and the CGI scales. Safety parameters include blood tests, urinalysis and ECG.

Timeline

Start

2009-01

Primary completion

2010-11

Completion

2010-11

Publications

• Results Findling RL, McNamara NK, O'Riordan MA, Reed MD, Demeter CA, Branicky LA, Blumer JL. An open-label pilot study of St. John's wort in juvenile depression. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2003 Aug;42(8):908-14. doi: 10.1097/01.CHI.0000046900.27264.2A.
• Results Simeon J, Nixon MK, Milin R, Jovanovic R, Walker S. Open-label pilot study of St. John's wort in adolescent depression. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol. 2005 Apr;15(2):293-301. doi: 10.1089/cap.2005.15.293.

Drugs

Indications