Clinical Usefulness of Korean Red Ginseng in Postmenopausal Women with Severe Climacteric Disturbance

The aim of this study is to evaluate clinical usefulness of Korean red ginseng (RG) on various postmenopausal syndromes. Total plasminogen inhibitor-l (tPAI-l) in peripheral blood from 9 postmenopausal women with climacteric syndromes (CS) was measured before and 3 months after treatment with daily oral administration of 6 g RG and that from 8 postmenopausal women without any CS was also measured as healthy controls. Blood samples were collected in the early morning on the bed-rest. Psychological conditions of postmenopausal women with CS were measured before and 3 months after treatment with RG using simplified menopausal index (SMI). In addition, OKETSU (blood stagnation) syndrome scores and KI deficiency (generalized energy stagnation) scores proposed by Terasawa et al., were recorded before and 3 months after treatment with RG in postmenopausal women with CS and in healthy postmenopausal women. OKETSU syndrome scores and tPAI-l levels in postmenopausal patients with CS were significantly (P<0.001 and P<0.01) higher than those in healthy postmenopausal women without CS. Similarly, SMI scores and KI deficiency scores in postmenopausal patients with CS were about three-fold higher than those without any CS. When RG was administered for 3 months, KI deficiency scores and OKETSU scores as well as SMI scores declined around the levels of healthy postmenopausal women. Although tPAI-1 levels significantly (P<0.05) decreased after treatment with RG, those did not reach the levels of healthy postmenopausal women. Clinical usefulness of administration of RG to postmenopausal women with CS was confirmed from evaluation not only by modem medicine but also by traditional KAMPO medicine.