Stabilizing Mild Cognitive Impairment and Mild Alzheimer's Disease with Panax Ginseng

Lane Simonian

There are multiple articles suggesting the positive impact of panax ginseng on various aspects of Alzheimer's disease pathology and at least three clinical trials/studies suggesting that it can at least stabilize mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer's disease for at least two years if not more and slow down the progression of moderate Alzheimer's disease by at least one year (although panax ginseng was combined with Chinese herbs in two of these studies):

A Two-Year Treatment of Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment using a Compound Chinese Medicine: A Placebo Controlled Randomized Trial

 In contrast to the placebo group, the drug group presented improved or stable general cognitive function, memory, language and executive function especially the primary outcomes MMSE and episodic memory with Bushen [Yizhi] capsule treatment.

https://www.nature.com/articles/srep28982#Sec19 (see figure one).

Adding Chinese herbal medicine to conventional therapy brings cognitive benefits to patients with Alzheimer’s disease: a retrospective analysis

Compared to CT [Conventional Therapy] alone, CT + H [Herbs] significantly benefited AD patients. A symptomatic effect of CT + H was more pronounced with time. Cognitive decline was substantially decelerated in patients with moderate severity, while the cognitive function was largely stabilized in patients with mild severity over two years. These results imply that Chinese herbal medicines may provide an alternative and additive treatment for AD.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5729264/ (see figure one)

Improvement of Cognitive Deficit in Alzheimer’s Disease Patients by Long Term Treatment with Korean Red [Panax] Ginseng

 In the long-term evaluation of the efficacy of KRG after 24 wk, the improved MMSE score remained without significant decline at the 48th and 96th wk. ADAS-cog showed similar findings. Maximum improvement was found around week 24. In conclusion, the effect of KRG on cognitive functions was sustained for 2 yr follow-up, indicating feasible efficacies of long-term follow-up for Alzheimer’s disease.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3659550/ (see figure two).

Among the potential side effects of panax ginseng are insomnia, stomach problems, jitteriness, and fluctuations in blood pressure. Panax ginseng may increase the risk of bleeding in those taking blood thinners.

Panax ginseng appears to at least partially reverse the damage done to the brain in Alzheimer's disease.