5 replies to this topic

[drmz]

The three year long study, led by Hiroko Dodge, PhD, of the Department of Public Health and Center for Healthy Aging Research at Oregon State University in Corvallis, involved 118 people age 85 and older with no memory problems.

Amongst those, half of the participants took ginkgo biloba extract three times a day and half took a placebo. 21 people developed mild memory problems or questionable dementia during the study: 14 of those took the placebo and seven took the ginkgo extract.

Though ginkgo seemed to reap positive results, the difference between those who took gingko versus the placebo was not statistically significant.

Surprisingly, when the researchers looked at the data at the end of the trial, they found that people who reliably took the supplement had a 68 pct lower risk of developing mild memory problems than those who took the placebo, taking into account whether people followed directions in taking the study pills.

However, if this difference is real or just a chance occurrence was not clear without further study.

In fact being on the safer side, the study also found that people taking ginkgo biloba were more prone to have a stroke or transient ischemic attack, or mini stroke. Seven people taking ginkgo had strokes, while none of those taking placebo did

article found at Medindia

Has somebody here a subscription at the A merican Academy of Neurology for the full study ?

[gashinshotan]

The three year long study, led by Hiroko Dodge, PhD, of the Department of Public Health and Center for Healthy Aging Research at Oregon State University in Corvallis, involved 118 people age 85 and older with no memory problems.

Amongst those, half of the participants took ginkgo biloba extract three times a day and half took a placebo. 21 people developed mild memory problems or questionable dementia during the study: 14 of those took the placebo and seven took the ginkgo extract.

Though ginkgo seemed to reap positive results, the difference between those who took gingko versus the placebo was not statistically significant.

Surprisingly, when the researchers looked at the data at the end of the trial, they found that people who reliably took the supplement had a 68 pct lower risk of developing mild memory problems than those who took the placebo, taking into account whether people followed directions in taking the study pills.

However, if this difference is real or just a chance occurrence was not clear without further study.

In fact being on the safer side, the study also found that people taking ginkgo biloba were more prone to have a stroke or transient ischemic attack, or mini stroke. Seven people taking ginkgo had strokes, while none of those taking placebo did

article found at Medindia

Has somebody here a subscription at the A merican Academy of Neurology for the full study ?

I do through my university. No link there

[DocSchauss]

The three year long study, led by Hiroko Dodge, PhD, of the Department of Public Health and Center for Healthy Aging Research at Oregon State University in Corvallis, involved 118 people age 85 and older with no memory problems.

Amongst those, half of the participants took ginkgo biloba extract three times a day and half took a placebo. 21 people developed mild memory problems or questionable dementia during the study: 14 of those took the placebo and seven took the ginkgo extract.

Though ginkgo seemed to reap positive results, the difference between those who took gingko versus the placebo was not statistically significant.

Surprisingly, when the researchers looked at the data at the end of the trial, they found that people who reliably took the supplement had a 68 pct lower risk of developing mild memory problems than those who took the placebo, taking into account whether people followed directions in taking the study pills.

However, if this difference is real or just a chance occurrence was not clear without further study.

In fact being on the safer side, the study also found that people taking ginkgo biloba were more prone to have a stroke or transient ischemic attack, or mini stroke. Seven people taking ginkgo had strokes, while none of those taking placebo did

article found at Medindia

Has somebody here a subscription at the A merican Academy of Neurology for the full study ?

I do through my university. No link there

A problem with the study was the low number, and the fact they didn't match the numbers (14 placebo versus 7 ginkgo). I'd be interested in reviewing the rest of the study as the stroke incidence was really high but because of the numbers, may not mean anything as it could have well been chance.

Mark Schauss
www.ToxicWorldBook.com
www.CrayhonResearch.com

[gashinshotan]

The three year long study, led by Hiroko Dodge, PhD, of the Department of Public Health and Center for Healthy Aging Research at Oregon State University in Corvallis, involved 118 people age 85 and older with no memory problems.

Amongst those, half of the participants took ginkgo biloba extract three times a day and half took a placebo. 21 people developed mild memory problems or questionable dementia during the study: 14 of those took the placebo and seven took the ginkgo extract.

Though ginkgo seemed to reap positive results, the difference between those who took gingko versus the placebo was not statistically significant.

Surprisingly, when the researchers looked at the data at the end of the trial, they found that people who reliably took the supplement had a 68 pct lower risk of developing mild memory problems than those who took the placebo, taking into account whether people followed directions in taking the study pills.

However, if this difference is real or just a chance occurrence was not clear without further study.

In fact being on the safer side, the study also found that people taking ginkgo biloba were more prone to have a stroke or transient ischemic attack, or mini stroke. Seven people taking ginkgo had strokes, while none of those taking placebo did

article found at Medindia

Has somebody here a subscription at the A merican Academy of Neurology for the full study ?

I do through my university. No link there

A problem with the study was the low number, and the fact they didn't match the numbers (14 placebo versus 7 ginkgo). I'd be interested in reviewing the rest of the study as the stroke incidence was really high but because of the numbers, may not mean anything as it could have well been chance.

Mark Schauss
www.ToxicWorldBook.com
www.CrayhonResearch.com

Well the low sample size matters - but you dont have to have equal numbers if you use a two-sample, unequal variance t-test.

[Mind]

Here is a much larger and much longer term study. Not sure what formulation was used.

Ginkgo biloba was found to be ineffective in reducing the development of dementia and Alzheimer's disease in older people

"The results of this study confirm the importance of randomized trials in the development of new therapies for dementia and Alzheimer's disease and in determining therapeutic benefit not only for conventional therapies but also complementary therapies like ginkgo," said Dr. DeKosky, principal investigator on the GEM study. "If older patients are considering using ginkgo for preventing dementia, I urge them to speak with their health care providers about the results of this study and work together to create the best treatment plan."

Study participants were followed for an average of approximately 6 years (maximum of just over 7 years). During the study, 523 participants were diagnosed with dementia, 246 in the placebo group and 277 in the ginkgo group. Thus, ginkgo showed no overall effect for reducing all types of dementia or Alzheimer's disease. In addition, in analyzing safety data, the GEM study did not find significant adverse effects from ginkgo, in particular there was no evidence for increased bleeding risk in persons taking ginkgo.

Cognitive status was known for more than 93 percent of all participants at the end of the trial and 60 percent of active participants were taking their assigned study medication. There was no difference in adherence to taking medication between the ginkgo group and the placebo group.

[Morris Luo]

hi

We are ginkgo biloba extract manufacture. Ginkgo Biloba extract is mainly used in curing coronary heart disease, angina pectoris, myocardial, cerebral embolism, and brain blood vessel patholo-gical change. For the memory diseases, only some reasearches show that ginkgo biloba extract has the function, do not pass the clinical experiments.

To Prevent Memory Loss, you had better try Huperzine-a and Pramiracetam.

Huperzine-a

Huperzine A is a natural cholinesterase inhibitor derived from the Chinese herb Huperzia serrata. There is evidence that huperzine A may compare favorably in symptomatic efficacy to cholinesterase inhibitors currently in use. In addition, huperzine A has antioxidant and neuroprotective properties that suggest that it may be useful as a disease-modifying treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD). The drug is currently available as a nutraceutical in this country, and is being used by some U.S. clinicians to treat AD. However, there have been no controlled clinical trials outside China assessing its toxicity and efficacy. The present study will evaluate huperzine A in the treatment of AD in a randomized controlled trial of its effect on cognitive function.

The primary aim of this multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled therapeutic Phase II trial is to determine whether treatment with huperzine A 200µg twice a day improves cognitive function in individuals with AD. Secondary aims of this study are to: a) determine whether treatment with huperzine A 400µg twice a day improves cognitive function in individuals with AD; b) determine the effect of huperzine A treatment on global clinical status, activities of daily living, and behavior in AD; c) evaluate the tolerability of huperzine A treatment at dosages of 200µg twice a day and 400µg twice a day in AD; and d) determine the relationship between blood cholinesterase activity and cognitive function in individuals with AD treated with huperzine A. A total of 150 participants will be randomly assigned to three groups of equal size. This will allow a comparison of huperzine A 200µg twice a day, huperzine A 400µg twice a day, and placebo. The primary outcome measures will be the change in score on the ADAScog at the 16 week visit. Secondary outcome measures include the ADCS clinical global impression of change (CGIC) (Schneider et al 1997) and activities of daily living (ADL) (Galasko et al 1997) scales, and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (Cummings 1997). Volunteers must be able to participate in the study for 24 weeks and make 9 visits to the trial site.

Pramiracetam;

The main ingredient of NEUPRAMIR is pramiracetam, a pharmaceutical product with nootropic effects. Experimental studies have proved it to be effective in improving memory and learning capacity.
This medicine has a sedative effect, which does not influence the activity of the autonomous nervous system. Its action is mildly disinhibitory and antidepressant.
Pramiracetam is a nootropic drug derived from piracetam, and is more potent (i.e. lower dosage is used). It belongs to the racetam family of nootropics.
Pramiracetam was developed by Parke-Davis based on Piracetam, and is 8-30 times stronger than Piracetam. It goes by the trade name Neupramir or Pramistar.