Ginkgo May Slow Mental Deterioration in MS Patients
Posted on: 05/06/2002
SAN DIEGO--Ginkgo biloba may be beneficial for cognition
in patients with mild multiple clerosis (MS), according to
researchers from the University of California, San Diego, who
presented their findings at the annual meeting of the American
Academy of Neurology (http://am.aan.com), held in Denver
April 13 to 20. Because previous evidence has suggested
ginkgo may slow cognitive decline in Alzheimer's patients,
researchers sought to determine whether the herb could
benefit MS patients who commonly suffer reduced cognitive
function.
The double blind, placebo-controlled, modified crossover
trial followed 21 patients with mild MS for six months. One
group was randomized to placebo for three months before
crossing over to ginkgo biloba (240 mg/d) for another three
months. The second group was randomized to ginkgo biloba
for six months.
At baseline, three months and six months, patients underwent
rigorous neuropsychological testing, in addition to answering
questions about quality of life and fatigue. At three months,
the ginkgo group exhibited statistically significant differences
in performance on the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test
and the Perceived Deficits Questionnaire (PDQ) of the
Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life Index than at baseline
compared to placebo. In addition, while there was no
significant difference between self-reporting of cognitive
abilities in the PDQ, there was an extremely significant
correlation between patients' self-reports of cognitive abilities
and fatigue in the ginkgo group as compared to placebo.
Researchers concluded that ginkgo biloba, in doses of 240
mg/d, is well-tolerated and may show beneficial effects on
attention, memory and functioning in patients with mild MS.
However, they added that additional research on larger
sample sizes for longer durations will be needed to support
these findings.
