Draft SIGN non-pharmacological depression treatments guideline, 3rd post: herbs & supplements
Last updated on 30th January 2010
This is the third in a series of blog posts on last Wednesday's SIGN draft guideline seminar on "Non-pharmacological management of mild to moderate depression." The first session of the day was on "Lifestyle and Alternative/Complementary Therapies 1". Yesterday's blog discussed the first presenter, Ian Ross's talk on the value of exercise in depression. The second presentation was by Cliff Sharp, a psychiatrist from NHS borders. He reviewed St John's Wort & Dietary Supplements. He talked about the possible value of folate in treating depression when used to supplement conventional antidepressants. He concluded that current evidence was insufficient to determine whether folate boosts response for those on antidepressants only if their initial folate levels are low, or whether it boosts response for anyone taking antidepressants. See an