- With Mayo Clinic emeritus internist
Kenneth G. Berge, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Kenneth G. Berge, M.D.
Kenneth G. Berge, M.D.
Dr. Kenneth Berge has been involved in Mayo Clinic's Web publications since they began in 1995, advising editors and the public throughout his tenure.
He develops content for the Ask a Specialist segment and helps plan and edit other content and design. Dr. Berge has also been an editor of CD-ROMs and books produced by Mayo Clinic.
Dr. Berge, board certified in internal medicine, has been with Mayo Clinic since 1955 and early on had a special research interest in cardiovascular risk factors, including cholesterol and hypertension. Dr. Berge served as a leader for a number of major National Institutes of Health clinical trials that established the fundamental roles for lifestyle modifications needed to prevent cardiovascular disease. Dr. Berge served in various capacities with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. He was vice chairman of the steering committee for the Coronary Drug Project and chairman of the steering committee on Systolic Hypertension in the Elderly Program from 1984 to 1993.
He won the Teacher of the Year Hall of Fame Award in 1987 and was Mayo Clinic voting staff president in 1976. He is an emeritus professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine.
He became a fellow in the American College of Physicians in 1962 and was president of the Minnesota chapter of the American College of Physicians in 1981.
As a respected physician, researcher and teacher with more than 40 years of clinical experience, Dr. Berge, a native of Wahkon, Minn., brings a wealth of knowledge to the Web site. "My career as a primary care physician for more than 40 years has provided me with experience in communicating complex information to a wide variety of patients in a manner that they could understand. I also came to know their common concerns and questions," he says.
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Question
Chronic fatigue: Can herbal remedies boost my energy?
Are there any natural remedies that reduce chronic fatigue associated with chronic fatigue syndrome? I sleep eight to 10 hours a night, and I'm still exhausted on most days.
Answer
from Kenneth G. Berge, M.D.
Many studies have evaluated a wide variety of natural products for effectiveness against chronic fatigue syndrome. Most results have been disappointing. A few remedies — intramuscular magnesium for people with low red blood cell magnesium, a combination of fish oil and evening primrose oil, melatonin, NADH, propionyl-L-carnitine, and ribose — have shown encouraging results in preliminary studies. However, many of these promising early results failed to be confirmed by subsequent studies or the original studies were too small to be conclusive. At this time, there is insufficient evidence of benefit to recommend any specific dietary or herbal supplements as a treatment for chronic fatigue.
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