St. John's Wort Similar To Placebo For ADHD Treatment

St. John's wort does not appear to improve the symptoms of
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and teens
in comparison with a placebo, according to an article released on June
10, 2008 in JAMA.



Hypericum perforatum, also called St. John's wort,
is a flowering plant often used in alternative medicine to treat
depression. Many studies have been used to test its efficacy for this
and other indications. Its active chemical is called hypercin, and some
of its efficacy is attributed to this substance.



ADHD is a neurological disorder that generally appears in childhood,
presenting with symptoms of hyperactivity, forgetfulness, and being
easily distracted. This disease affects between 3-12% of children in
the United States, according to the background information in the
article. Up to 30% of these children have no response to medications,
or have adverse effects when taking them such as nausea, insomnia, or
weight loss. For these reasons, many parents seek complementary or
alternative
medicine for their children with ADHD. Complementary or alternative
medicine treatments used for pediatric ADHD include massage, dietary
changes, dietary supplements, and herbal treatments. In the United
States, the most common herbal treatments used by children with ADHD
are St John's wort, Echinacea species, and Ginkgo biloba," write the
authors.



To investigate St. John's wort as a remedy for the symptoms of ADHD,
Wendy Weber, N.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., of Bastyr University, Kenmore, Wash.,
and colleagues performed a trial of 54 children and adolescents with
ADHD between the ages of 6 and 17 years. Of these, 27 subjects were
randomly assigned to receive 300mg of H. perforatum
standardized to 0.3% hypercin, while the other 27 received a matched
placebo. Treatment was administered three times daily for eight weeks
while all other ADHD medications were forbidden.



No significant discrepancy was found between the two groups in terms of
ADHD rating scale scores related to inattentiveness and hyperactivity
in any of the 8 weeks of trials. There was also no difference found in
the proportion of participants rated either much or very much improved
in relation to ADHD symptoms on a second, different measurement scale
called the Clinical Global Impression Improvement Scale. Finally, no
statistically significant difference was found between the two groups
for adverse events, including rash, nausea/vomiting, headache, or
sunburn.

ing the trial.



The authors indicate that this means the efficacy of St. John's wort is
similar to that of a placebo. "To our knowledge, this is the first
placebo-controlled trial of H. perforatum in
children and adolescents. The results of this study suggest that
administration of H. perforatum has no additional
benefit beyond that of placebo for treating symptoms of child and
adolescent ADHD," they write.



Hypericum perforatum (St John's Wort) for
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Children and Adolescents: A
Randomized Controlled Trial

Wendy Weber; Ann Vander Stoep; Rachelle L. McCarty; Noel S. Weiss;
Joseph Biederman; Jon McClellan

JAMA. 2008; 299(22): 2633-2641.

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Written by Anna Sophia McKenney