Abstract
OBJECTIVES This pilot trial was conducted to establish whether Boswellia Serrata (BS), a traditional herbal medicine, could improve the outcome of patients who have diffuse axonal injury (DAI). METHODS In total, 38 patients with pure DAI were enrolled in this 12-week, double-blind, randomized, cross-over study. The patients were randomly assigned to receive either placebo (group A, n = 20) or BS capsules (group B, n = 18) for 6 weeks and then switched to the other intervention for another 6 weeks. The disability rating scale (DRS) was used to assess the outcome at 2-, 6- and 12-weeks post-trauma. RESULTS A non-significant trend for improvement of DRS total scores was observed after the use of BS. Regarding the DRS sub-scores, however, there was significant improvement in 'cognitive ability to self-care' during the second 6 weeks in group A on BS compared to an insignificant spontaneous recovery in group B during the same period on placebo. Moreover, both groups experienced a close-to-significant increase in the cognitive function-related items of the DRS during the periods they were on BS. The reported adverse events were all of mild quality and had similar frequency between the groups. CONCLUSION These results suggest that BS resin does not significantly affect general outcome, but may enhance the cognitive outcome of patients with DAI.
