Ginseng may modify the progression of degenerative cerebellar ataxia: A report of two case
- Author:
Min Jung Oh
;
Min-Wook Kim
;
Manho Kim
- Publication Type:Case Reports
- MeSH:
Cerebellar Ataxia;
Cerebellar Diseases
- From:Neurology Asia
2015;20(3):313-318
- CountryMalaysia
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Cerebellar degeneration is a group of diseases that manifests as progressive ataxia, that finally led to
death without specific treatment. We report here two patients with cerebellar degeneration, who had
shown an improvement and less progressive course, which is associated with panax ginseng intake.
Patient 1 was a 60-year-old woman with multisystem atrophy (MSA) type C with 5 year history of
ginseng ingestion. Patient 2 was a 54-year-old woman with spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) type 6,
who had a history of ginseng intake for 30 months. Both the patients showed atrophic change in the
cerebellum by brain magnetic resonance imaging. Cerebellar functions had been semi-quantified by
International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS) and monitored before and after the ginseng
ingestion every 6 to 12 months. In Patient 1 with MSA type C, ICARS had improved from 21 to 17.5
± 1.8 in the following 5 years. In Patient 2 with SCA, ICARS also showed an improvement from
22 to 6.0 ± 1.0 over 30 months. However, when she stopped taking ginseng, it progressed up to 13
points in two years. These observations provide a potential disease-modifying effect of ginseng on
patients with cerebellar degeneration.
- Full text:P020151007482619178544.pdf
