Ginkgo Doesn't Improve Memory Or Cognitive Skills 403
JumperCable writes "Ginkgo biloba has failed — again — to live up to its reputation for boosting memory and brain function. Just over a year after a study showed that the herb doesn't prevent dementia and Alzheimer's disease, a new study from the same team of researchers has found no evidence that ginkgo reduces the normal cognitive decline that comes with aging. In the new study, the largest of its kind to date, DeKosky and his colleagues followed more than 3,000 people between the ages of 72 and 96 for an average of six years. Half of the participants took two 120-milligram capsules of ginkgo a day during the study period, and the other half took a placebo. The people who took ginkgo showed no differences in attention, memory, and other cognitive measures compared to those who took the placebo, according to the study, which was published in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association."
memory no... blood flow very much so (Score:4, Informative)
Aspirin or Ginko?
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/ginkgo-biloba-000247.htm [umm.edu]
Better concentration (some subjects thinking that that is one of the memory functions) could be a side effect of them not having headaches due to hypertension. Sample set yadi yada and so on.... statistics and damned lies.
Re:Ginko has a different effect on me (Score:5, Informative)
Well, that or you just assume that's the effect it will have on you, and so you behave accordingly.
But, hey, who am I to argue with a placebo effect that works for you?
Re:Untested drug found useless... wonders never ce (Score:5, Informative)
Thanks to DSHEA [fda.gov], the FDA legally can't do jack about it unless they have direct evidence of a given product causing serious harm(and their budget for going on epidemiological expeditions for that sort of thing isn't much to write home about).
Whether you consider this a shining beacon of freedom, or an ignoble nest of quacks, it seems likely to remain so for the foreseeable future.
Re:Actually works to their advantage (Score:3, Informative)
Re:So what exactly then... (Score:1, Informative)
...is ginkgo biloba good for?
Well, according to Wikipedia:
Out of the many conflicting research results, Ginkgo extract may have three effects on the human body: improvement in blood flow (including microcirculation in small capillaries) to most tissues and organs; protection against oxidative cell damage from free radicals; and blockage of many of the effects of platelet-activating factor (platelet aggregation, blood clotting) that have been related to the development of a number of cardiovascular, renal, respiratory and central nervous system disorders. Ginkgo can be used for intermittent claudication.
Some studies suggest a link between ginkgo and the easing of the symptoms of tinnitus.
Preliminary studies suggest that Ginkgo may be of benefit in multiple sclerosis, showing modest improvements in cognition and fatigue without increasing rates of serious adverse events in this population.
A study conducted in 2003 by the Department of Dermatology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, India concluded that Ginkgo is an effective treatment for arresting the development of vitiligo.
Sources:
Supplements industry group replies with BS (Score:5, Informative)
Cue the "but it worked in my case" replies...
120 milligrams isn't enough for any effect (Score:3, Informative)
Herbal supplement's are not concentrated like pharmaceuticals are.... 120 mg a day won't get you anything. Take 120 mg a day of most herbs that have active drug compounds and you're likely to get no more than a trace of that drug, whereas pharmaceuticals take the active compound and synthesize it - then give you 120 mg of the concentrated compound.
As a laugh, you could take 120 mg of marijuana - even good stuff... and smoke it. That's maybe 1/4 of a joint (you'd get about 2 joints out of a gram of weed if you were conservative). How high are you going to get on 1/4 of a joint? Not very... and THC is a fairly potent compound. Gingko is not nearly as potent.
Re:Untested drug found useless... wonders never ce (Score:3, Informative)
Unlike "dietary supplements", homeopathic remedies are recognized as drugs under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act(in Section 201(g). However, unlike ordinary drugs, they are subject only to production and labeling standards, not safety or efficacy tests, and are almost always nonprescription. Normally, this isn't a big deal, because most homeopathic drugs are so diluted that the contain(on average) 0 molecules of the active ingredient, and are prepared using harmless dilutants. Zicam was unusual in that, while it arguably fell under the definition of "homeopathic", and was sold as such, it was well within the range for biological activity.
Re:Actually works to their advantage (Score:3, Informative)
Re:No surprise because of the dosage (Score:1, Informative)
Never mind then that Vitamin C (arguably an 'unrefined plant material')
Ahem.
Vitamin C is a concentrated material, not a raw material. You still have to drink almost a cup of lemon juice to get 100mg of Vitamin C. (112.24mg to the cup, precisely.)