Pecis 4: St. John's Wort -The herb to boost your mood :)

http://www.clinical-depression.co.uk/depression-faq/st-johns-wort-any-good-for-depression/

• to relapse - 1. to become ill again after you have seemed to improve, eg. We were afraid he might relapse into a coma. 2. to start to behave badly again, eg. Clara soon relapsed into her old ways.

• to outline - 1. [transitive] to describe something in a general way, giving the main points but not the details, eg. The new president outlined plans to deal with crime, drugs, and education. 2.  [usually passive] to show the edge of something, or draw around its edge, so that its shape is clear, eg. a map with our property outlined in red, trees outlined against the sky.

• double-blind  (technical) -a double-blind scientific test or study compares two groups in which neither the scientists nor the people being studied know which group is being tested and which group is not

• Adverse (adj) - 1. not good or favourable, eg. They fear it could have an adverse effect on global financial markets, Miller's campaign has received a good deal of adverse publicity.  2. Adverse conditions:  conditions that make it difficult for something to happen or exist, eg. The expedition was abandoned because of adverse weather conditions

• Whereas (conjunction) - 1. (formal) used to say that although something is true of one thing, it is not true of another, eg. The old system was fairly complicated whereas the new system is really very simple, Whereas the city spent over $1 billion on its museums and stadium, it failed to look after its schools.  2. (law) used at the beginning of an official document to mean 'because of a particular fact.

• Confined (adj) -  1. be confined to somebody/something : to exist in or affect only a particular place or group, eg. The risk of infection is confined to medical personnel.           2. a confined space or area is one that is very small, eg. It wasn't easy to sleep in such a confined space.

• Outweigh [transitive] - to be more important or valuable than something else, eg. The benefits of the scheme outweigh the disadvantages.

St John's Wort (Hypericum) is a herb to treat mid to moderate depression. The researches has shown it as effective antidepressant, leaving less side effects than medical drugs. It is still affecting some prescribed medicines, so it is wise to consult your practitioner prior taking it. During the test of Hypericum patients were divided to two groups: one of them were given 300mg of St John's Wort extract, three times daily, and the others were given a placebo. It was revealed that 68% of the STW group responded positively, without side effects while only 28% of the placebo ones showed some improvement. It was stated that study was confined only to the mild form of depression patients, as they were not influenced by traditional antidepressants, which could outweigh expected benefits. Therefore it is recommended that hypericum should be used as a remedy of choice. Another research was kept to find out why people choose to self-medicate with SJW instead of seeking care in a conventional medicine. Four dominant reasons were: Personal Health Care Values, Mood, Perceptions of Seriousness of Disease and Risks of Treatment, Accessibility Issues. Users reported moderate effectiveness and few side effects of SJW as well as a belief in the safety of herbal remedies.