Effects of pharmacopuncture with wild ginseng complex in 2 elderly patients with obesity: Case report

RATIONALE: Obesity has become a worldwide health challenge. In elderly patients, obesity induces a decrease in skeletal muscle strength and mass, which is linked to age-related sarcopenia. These are important predictors of hospitalization and death. Herein, we report on 2 elderly male patients who were treated by pharmacopuncture with wild ginseng complex (WGC). PATIENT CONCERNS: Case 1 was that of a 62-year-old man who was mainly concerned about his appearance as his abdominal fat was steadily increasing, without any changes to his body weight. He also had an aversion to any type of modern Western medicine. In addition, the patient was averse to changing his eating habits or exercise style. Case 2 was that of a 66-year-old man who was concerned about his appearance due to an increase in abdominal fat accumulation. Furthermore, he had gained 1.5 inches in waist circumference over the past 2 years. The patient wanted to lose fat in the abdomen, but not in other parts of the body. DIAGNOSES: In this study, we examined 2 elderly male patients (aged 60 years and above) with abdominal obesity and excessive visceral fat mass. Abdominal obesity is defined as a waist circumference of ≥ 90 cm for men and ≥ 80 cm for women. INTERVENTIONS: The patients received pharmacopuncture with WGC 5 times over 3 weeks on their abdomen without controlling diet and exercise. OUTCOME: After 3 weeks of pharmacopuncture with WGC and at a follow-up appointment 3 weeks later, we detected an increase in muscle mass, protein content, and basal metabolic rate in both cases. LESSONS: Although we observed only 2 cases, our results indicated that pharmacopuncture with WGC can be used as a new alternative treatment to prevent and improve abdominal obesity in elderly individuals, as well as age-related sarcopenic obesity.