Effectiveness of Korean Red Ginseng on fatigue in patients with rheumatic diseases: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
Korean J Intern Med
; 39(4): 680-690, 2024 Jul.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38576235
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
To evaluate the effectiveness of Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) in managing fatigue in Korean patients with rheumatic diseases.METHODS:
Patients were randomly assigned to KRG (2 g/day, n = 60) or placebo (n = 60) groups for 12 weeks of blind phase and then open-label KRG from weeks 12 to 24 (placebo-KRG, continuous-KRG). The primary outcome was the improvement rate in fatigue, defined by an increase in Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT)-Fatigue scores at 12 weeks. Secondary outcomes included changes in FACIT-Fatigue and fatigue visual analog scale (VAS) between 0 and 12 weeks and those changes in both indices at 24 weeks.RESULTS:
The study enrolled 120 patients (Sjogren syndrome [n = 53], rheumatoid arthritis [n = 43], or both diseases [n = 24]). The mean age was 50.9 ± 11.6 years, with 97.5% being female. Baseline characteristics were similar between the two groups. The improvement rate in FACIT-Fatigue after 12 weeks was higher in the KRG group than in the placebo group, but the difference was statistically insignificant (38.3% vs. 26.7%, p = 0.242). Improvement in fatigue was observed in both groups by increases in FACIT-F (4.6 vs. 4.0) and reductions in fatigue VAS (-16.0 vs. -12.2) scores at 12 weeks. The most frequently reported adverse events during KRG use were pruritus and urticarial, with no significant difference between the two groups.CONCLUSION:
Both KRG and placebo groups showed significant reductions in fatigue. KRG treatment for 24 weeks did not reduce fatigue symptoms more than the placebo in patients with rheumatic diseases.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Fatigue
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Panax
Limits:
Adult
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Aged
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
En
Journal:
Korean J Intern Med
Journal subject:
MEDICINA INTERNA
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Country of publication: