Ginsenoside-Rd may be of some benefit in acute ischaemic stroke. - GreenMedInfo Summary
Efficacy and safety of ginsenoside-Rd for acute ischaemic stroke: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase II multicenter trial.
Eur J Neurol. 2009 May ;16(5):569-75. Epub 2009 Feb 19. PMID: 19236467
X Liu
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Ginsenoside-Rd is a selective competitive Ca2+ receptor antagonist. A phase II randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study was conducted to examine the efficacy and safety of ginsenoside-Rd in patients with acute ischaemic stroke.
METHODS: A total of 199 patients were randomized equally to receive a 14-day infusion of placebo (group B), ginsenoside-Rd 10 mg (group A) or ginsenoside-Rd 20 mg (group C). Primary end-points were National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores at 15 days. Secondary end-points were NIHSS scores and the Barthel Index at 8 days, the Barthel Index and the modified Rankin scale at 15 days and 90 days. The safety end-points included serious and non-serious adverse events, laboratory values and vital signs. Analysis was by intention to treat.
RESULTS: For the primary study outcome, there is significant difference amongst the three groups at 15 days in NIHSS scores (P = 0.0003). Comparing group A with B and group B with C, the difference in the mean for NIHSS was significant in statistics (P = 0.0004, P = 0.0009 respectively). This is no significant difference between group A and C (P = 0.9640). For the secondary study outcome, ginsenoside-Rd did not improve neurological functioning. Incidence of serious and non-serious adverse events was similar amongst the three groups.
CONCLUSIONS: Ginsenoside-Rd may be of some benefit in acute ischaemic stroke.