title: PG2 for patients with acute spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study.
abstract: PG2 is an infusible polysaccharide extracted from Astragalus membranaceus, which is a Chinese herb traditionally used for stroke treatment. We investigated the effect of PG2 on patients with spontaneous acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). A total of 61 patients with acute spontaneous ICH were randomized to either the treatment group (TG, 30 patients), which received 3 doses of PG2 (500 mg, IV) per week for 2 weeks, or the control group (CG, 31 patients), which received PG2 placebo. At 84 days after PG2 administration, the percentage of patients with a good Glasgow outcome scale (GOS 4-5) score in the TG was similar to that in the CG (69.0% vs. 48.4%; p = 0.2). The percentage of good mRS scores (0-2) in the TG was similar to that in the CG (62.1% vs. 45.2%; p = 0.3). In addition, no significant differences were seen when comparing differences in the C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α, and S100B levels between baseline and days 4, 7, and 14 after PG2 administration (all p > 0.05). The results are preliminary, necessitating a more thorough assessment.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.|Department of Neurosurgery, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40447, Taiwan.|Stroke Center, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40447, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chun-Chung
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Stroke Center, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40447, Taiwan.|Department of Public Health, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
authors.forename: XianXiu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Biostatistics, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tsai-Chung
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40447, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hung-Lin
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Tainan Municipal An-Nan Hospital, Tainan 70965, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yen-Tze
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.|Department of Neurosurgery, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40447, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Han-Chung
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40447, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yu-Kai
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40447, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Der-Cherng
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40447, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shiu-Chiu
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40447, Taiwan.|Stroke Center, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40447, Taiwan.|Graduate Institute of Immunology, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Der-Yang
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40447, Taiwan.|Graduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.|Graduate Institute of Acupuncture Science, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.|Research Center for Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ching-Liang
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Hsieh
mesh_terms: D027885:Astragalus propinquus; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D023261:Glasgow Outcome Scale; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D008875:Middle Aged; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D011134:Polysaccharides