title: Effects of korean red ginseng on hearing and blood glucose levels in steroid therapy for sudden sensorineural hearing loss.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Korean red ginseng (KRG) has hypoglycemic, antioxidant, antithrombotic, and other beneficial effects in human. The present study evaluate the therapeutic effects of KRG on hearing recovery and glucocorticoid-induced hyperglycemia in patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) undergoing systemic steroid therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  The patients were divided into 2 groups: the steroid, and the combination of steroid and red ginseng. Pure tone averages (PTA) were assessed at the first visit and 2-month follow-up. All patients underwent fasting blood glucose analyses just before and on the fifth day of treatment. Both groups were treated with a 10-day course of oral methylprednisolone at tapering doses starting from a daily dose of 48 mg. To the combination group, KRG extract was administered by mouth at a daily dose of 3 g for 20 days in addition to methylprednisolone. Hearing gain was calculated comparing the initial PTA and PTA at 2 months' follow-up. Treatment responses were classified according to Siegel's criteria.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pretreatment conditions were similar between the steroid (n=37) and combination groups (n=36). At 2 months after the treatment, PTA improved significantly in both groups, but there was no significant difference in the mean hearing gain & recovery rate. The non-diabetic subjects in the steroid group (n=27) exhibited a 24% increase in the mean blood glucose level during the systemic steroid therapy, while those in the combination group (n=34) showed no changes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although the KRG did not provide greater therapeutic effects on hearing recovery, we suggest that red ginseng can be a useful adjuvant to the current steroid therapy to normalize glucocorticoid-induced hyperglycemia in non-diabetic patients during the treatment of SSNHL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: So-Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae-Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jun-Kyu
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyoung-Ho
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Park
keywords: Glucose; Hyperglycemia; Korean red ginseng; Steroids; Sudden sensorineural hearing loss