The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

  • Recent Posts

  • Recent Comments

    Does ginseng aid cognition?

    It’s suggested, based on laboratory and clinical studies, that ginseng may have beneficial effects on cognitive performance (reasoning).

    This Cochrane review evaluated the evidence in healthy people.

    First, the details.

    • 9 well-designed studies were included in the review.
      • 8 studies enrolled healthy participants.
      • 1 study included people with age-associated memory impairment (AAMI).
    • Only 5 of the studies had extractable information and were included in the analysis.
    • 4 studies investigated the effects of ginseng extract, and 1 assessed the efficacy of ginseng compound HT008-1.
    • Pooling the data was impossible because of difference among studies in outcome measures, study duration, and ginseng dosage.

    And, the results.

    • Results of the analysis suggested improvement in some aspects of cognitive function, behavior, and quality of life.
    • No serious adverse events associated with ginseng were found.

    The bottom line?

    Despite the fact that the studies were well designed and suggest benefit with ginseng, the authors concluded, “There is a lack of convincing evidence to show a cognitive enhancing effect of Panax ginseng in healthy participants and no high quality evidence about its efficacy in patients with dementia.”

    Dr. Darrell Hulisz from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio has listed several key points to remember when taking ginseng and other herbals.

    12/9/10 18:29 JR

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