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Study found herb worked better than sham treatment, but only afterabout 2 months. MONDAY, June 4 (HealthDay News) -- The herb ginseng appeared tosignificantly reduce cancer-related fatigue compared to an inactiveplacebo, although it took several weeks for the herb's effects totake effect in the patients, a new study reports. In the study, the researchers gave either a placebo or2,000-milligram capsules of ground ginseng root to 340 patients whowere being treated for cancer or had completed cancer treatment.Fatigue is extremely common among cancer patients; most of those inthe study suffered from breast cancer. The patients took capsules of pure American ginseng instead of someover-the-counter ginseng products that can include ethanol. Ethanolmay be potentially dangerous to breast cancer patients, studyresearcher Debra Barton of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center said in anews release from the clinic. "After eight weeks, we saw a 20-point improvement in fatigue incancer patients, measured on a 100-point, standardized fatiguescale," Barton said. Those who took the ginseng capsules didn't report much improvementat four weeks, but at eight weeks they reported they felt less"worn out," "fatigued," "sluggish" or "tired," compared to thosewho took the placebo, the investigators found. The study authors noted that ginseng didn't seem to have any sideeffects. They didn't specify how much the ginseng treatments wouldcost. A previous Mayo Clinic study found that about one-quarter ofpatients who'd had cancer and suffered from fatigue said they felt"moderately better" or "much better" after taking 1,000-milligramor 2,000-milligram ginseng tablets. By comparison, only 10 percentof those who took the placebo reported those results. Laura Murphy, a professor of physiology at Southern IllinoisUniversity Carbondale who's familiar with the research, said it's ahelpful addition to existing knowledge. The cost of ginseng will beinexpensive compared to prescription drugs that could be used totreat fatigue, she said. Why might ginseng help fatigue? It's not clear, said Murphy, whohas studied the herb. "Essentially, when healthy people ingestginseng, there are no notable effects," she said. "However, when anill person takes ginseng, they tend to feel more normal." The study, funded by the U.S. National Cancer Institute and theBreast Cancer Research Foundation, was scheduled to be releasedJune 4 at the annual meeting of the American Society of ClinicalOncology in Chicago. The data and conclusions of research presented at medical meetingsshould be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewedjournal. More information For more about American ginseng , visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine. SOURCES: Mayo Clinic, news release, June, 4, 2012; Laura Murphy,Ph.D., professor of physiology, Southern Illinois UniversityCarbondale Copyright © 2012 HealthDay . All rights reserved. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China Nature Slimming Coffee , Lose Weight Patches Manufacturer for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Male Sex Pills.
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