American ginseng does not improve fatigue in multiple sclerosis: a single center randomized double-blind placebo-controlled crossover pilot study.

This study examined the safety and efficacy of an escalating dose (100 mg, 200 mg, 400 mg/day) of American ginseng over 6 weeks in a single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial with 56 subjects with multiple sclerosis and fatigue. There were no serious adverse events but fatigue on ginseng, as assessed by the Fatigue Severity Scale, was not significantly different from fatigue on placebo.

Novel method for measurement of fatigue in multiple sclerosis: Real-Time Digital Fatigue Score.

The study's objective was to develop a real-time measurement for fatigue and to evaluate whether it is an effective clinical trial outcome measure compared with the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) and the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS). Forty-nine subjects with MS and an FSS >4 recorded Real-Time Digital Fatigue Scores (RDFSs) on a wrist-worn device four times a day over 3 weeks. Scores were scaled 0-10, with 10 representing the worst possible fatigue.

Multiple modes of hepatitis A virus transmission among methamphetamine users.

Methamphetamine users are at increased risk of hepatitis A, but modes of transmission are unclear. The authors conducted a case-control study among methamphetamine users during an outbreak in Iowa in 1997. Twenty-eight reported, laboratory-confirmed, hepatitis A cases did not differ from 18 susceptible controls with respect to age, sex, or number of doses used.