Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

People who take the St. John’s wort (SJW), an herb and herbal supplement widely used to treat depression, may be at greater risk for developing cataracts, according to a University of Alabama Department of Epidemiology study recently published in the journal Current Eye Research and reported on InjuryBoard.com. The study of more than 31,000 adults aged 40 years and older, which was part of the ongoing National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), found that participants who reported cataracts were 59 percent more likely to report that they had used SJW for at least a year.

The connection between SJW and cataracts can take years to be made, as cataracts can take five to 10 years to form and cause symptoms. Scientists were first tipped off to the possible link between SJW and eye problems in 1999, when Dr. Joan Roberts and a team of researchers from Fordam University found that the active ingredient in the herb, hypericin, can produce free radicals when exposed to visible and ultraviolet light. That reaction can damage proteins in the crystalline lens of the eye, which can lead to loss of clarity in the lens, also known as cataracts.

In an interview with InjuryBoard.com, Dr. Roberts said that she believes her findings indicate that the herbal supplement should either be removed from store shelves or at least be labeled as increasing one’s risk for cataracts. “The herbs and over-the-counter drugs need to be safe as well as effective,” she told InjuryBoard.com. “Trading blindness for a reduction in depression is not, in my opinion, an acceptable risk.”

This entry was posted on Monday, December 14th, 2009 at 1:35 pm and is filed under News, product liability. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.