Comments on: St. John’s Wort for ADHD?

By: Evaluating Drug-Free Alternatives for A.D.H.D. - World of Psychology

Evaluating Drug-Free Alternatives for A.D.H.D. - World of Psychology — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:39:36 +0000

[...] Most Popular Posts Top 10 Myths of Mental IllnessSt. John’s Wort for ADHD?Gay Relationship Research Holds Valuable Lessons for Straight Couples, TooHow NOT to Discourage Drunk Driving: The El Camino High Debacle”Sleep-Texting”: Growing Phenomenon or Fiction? [...]

By: Row1

Row1 — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:54:38 +0000

To make sure that his drug trumped St. John’s wort, they played with the concepts of science a little. First: they tested an ‘active’ ingredient that they acknowledge was probably inactivated due to oxidation (it got stale): “Hyperforin…quickly…becomes inactive…which is likely what happened…in this trial;” Second: some (but not all) followers of St. John say that it must be harvested at a specific time of its blooming season, but the article makes no mention of this. There are other indicators of poor design, most notably the greater decrease in adhd scores on all measures for the placebo group versus SJW – that’s odd.

By: St. John’s Wort and ADHD « The Country Shrink

St. John’s Wort and ADHD « The Country Shrink — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 02:29:23 +0000

[...] June 13, 2008 in Psychology, psychiatry Tags: ADHD, ADHD treatment, Psychology, St. Johns Wort A most recent research trial, conducted by a pharmaceutical hack, found that St. John’s Wort was no more effective than placebo in alleviating symptoms of ADHD in children. You could read this as no more effective than antidepressant medication if you’ve read my previous posts. John Grohol notes that this study was conducted by Joseph Biederman who has been outed by CLPsych as having taken 1.6 million dollars from the pharaceutical industry which he didn’t report between 2000 and 2007. So, you can take this for what it’s worth. Maybe there’s no bias here, but I don’t believe in non-biased research. If you do, then you can feel comforted by the fact that a cheap/safe alternative to stimulant medications does not exists. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)ADHD – Addatives, Diets, Herbs, and Denierswith St John’s WortSt. John’s wort — drug interactionSt. John’s Wort Doesn’t Work for ADHD Blogroll [...]

By: wordmeister

wordmeister — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:46:43 +0000

And worse and worse.

http://www.psychiatrist.com/pcc/visuals/disc.htm

Physicians Post Graduate Press, Inc. (collection of published, peer-reviewed journal articles that posts disclosures of funding)

> > > [QUOTE] Dr. Biederman has received research support from:
Shire Richwood
Eli Lilly
Wyeth
Pfizer
Cephalon
Novartis
Janssen
Noven Pharmaceutical
Stanley Foundation National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, and
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA);

[CONTINUED] [He] is a member of the speakers bureaus for GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Novartis, Wyeth, Shire Richwood, ALZA, and Cephalon; and is a member of the advisory boards for Eli Lilly, Celltech, Shire Richwood, Novartis, Noven Pharmaceutical, ALZA, McNeil, and Cephalon. [END]

I can’t describe how let down I feel. ADHD, depression and bipolar are the foundations of who I am. I had always respected Dr. Biederman and viewed him as an advocate and source of unbiased information. I never even knew that he led the Strattera research.

Trust is a fragile thing for me, and he broke it.

By: wordmeister

wordmeister — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:19:26 +0000

Thanks for the followup. And the bull’s eye. Eli Lilly is among the pharmaceutical companies that underwrite the research and clinical trials in which Dr. Biederman is the principal investigator. Including Eli Lilly’s Strattera for ADD/HD (the one that was identified as the messiah of meds and now has the black box warning).

I puttered around with Google for a bit and found that these results – non-efficacy of St. John’s wort in ADHD – were reported in one of the British journals in 2002.

It gets worse and worse.

http://www.pharmalot.com/2008/06/biederman-defender-has-ties-to-biederman/

> > > [QUOTE[ ... Susan Resko, director of the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation, told the Times: “I consider Dr. Biederman a true visionary in recognizing this illness in children, and he’s not only saved many lives but restored hope to thousands of families across the country.”

> > >[CONTINUED] “Two points worth noting – a major donor to the foundation is Johnson & Johnson, which sells Risperdal, a drug that was approved only last August to treat children 10 years and older with bipolar disorder. Also, Biederman is the first person listed on the foundation’s advisory council.” [END]