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The effect of hepar magnesium on seasonal fatigue symptoms: a pilot study
Erik W Baars1, Sabine Gans, Ernst L Ellis
1Healthcare & Nutrition Department, Louis Bolk Instituut, Driebergen, The Netherlands. e.baars@louisbolk.nl
Objectives:
To evaluate the effect of the anthroposophic drug hepar magnesium D10 intravenously administered on seasonal fatigue symptoms.
Design:
Time series with two measurements per week, starting before onset of treatment until three measurements after finishing treatment in a regular way.
Settings:
Six anthroposophic general practitioner practices in the Netherlands.
Subjects:
Twenty-three (23) patients with seasonal fatigue symptoms.
Interventions:
Hepar magnesium D10 intravenously administered every week.
Outcome Measures:
Mean division of 24 hours in categories: sleep, rest, everyday activities, and activities that require a large effort; fatigue-related single questions: unusual emotional response to events, problems with short-term memory, the degree to which fatigue after effort continues for longer than 2 hours, the degree to which people at the end of the day have a complete lack of energy; and the degree to which people are still fit after the evening meal; Multidimensional Fatigue Index: general fatigue, physical fatigue, reduced activity, reduced motivation, and mental fatigue; subjective experiences with regard to the effect of the treatment.
Results:
(1) No changes in division in 24-hour categories were found; (2) pretreatment versus post-treatment analyses (after 1 and 2.5 weeks, at the end of treatment, and 1.5 weeks after the end of treatment) demonstrated overall large statistically significant differences. Eighteen (18) of 22 patients (82%) who completed the final questionnaire judged that treatment overall had been effective for their fatigue symptoms. Nine (9) patients (41%) judged a strong improvement and 9 patients (41%) a light improvement as a result of the treatment. Four (4) patients reported no change. On average, patients received treatment 4.5 times.
Conclusions:
There are clear indications that hepar magnesium D10 intravenously administered can have a positive effect on subsyndromal seasonal affective disorder symptoms of fatigue. A more controlled trial is indicated to study the (long-term) effects of hepar magnesium.
