Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by a progressive decline of memory and intellectual
abilities, interfering activity in daily living, the overall quality of life, and ultimately
leads to death. Although pharmacologic treatments are currently approved for treating mild-
to moderate AD using acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (ACEI) or memantine, the NMDA
antagonist, for the advanced stage of AD, the therapeutic efficacies need to be further
improved.
For millennia, ginseng or its components have been used to treat medical conditions, and the
pharmacologic effects have been demonstrated in cardiovascular, endocrine and immune system
(Attele et al., 1999). In means of memory and learning, a number of studies suggested that
ginseng can attenuate learning deficits of damaged or ageing brains in rodent models (Kennedy
et al., 2003; Zhao and McDaniel, 1998; Nitta et al., 1995). In studies with human healthy
participants, correspondently, both acute and chronic dosage of ginseng increased the
cognitive performance (Kennedy et al., 2001; Kennedy et al., 2003; D’Angelo et al., 1986;
Sorensen and Sonne, 1996).
In this study, we we will investigate the contribution of ginseng treatment in increasing the
cognitive improvement of AD patients. In addition, we will test various bio-markers and
hematopoietic progenitor cell count in those included patients using their blood samples.
Patients with AD as well as memory decline will be included