Ginkgo Doesn't Improve Memory Or Cognitive Skills

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."

Ginko has a different effect on me

[Green Light]

I have noticed that when I take it, I am more "motivated". I get up out of my chair and do stuff, rather than surf, say, slashdot.

Re:Ginko has a different effect on me

[Anonymous Coward]

I took gingko once, i was able to see each individual raindrop hitting the parking lot all at once. It was pretty wild stuff. I never did it again. Yes, I'm sure that's what I took.

Re:Actually works to their advantage

[mcgrew]

On the other hand, St. John's Wort has been proven as effective at treating depression as Paxil. So you can't lump all the herbals together. Just because Ginko doesn't work doesn't mean no herbs work.

Re:That's just Western prejudice

[Phreakiture]

I know you're joking, but I actually would have thought it really cool if they had a second control group who took nothing, just to see if there is a psychosomatic element in play.

Re:Actually works to their advantage

[Chris Daniel]

Yes, St. John's Wort is effective. However, you should always consult with your doctor before taking it, as it can interfere with other drugs (specifically, I have read that it prevents or retards the mechanism of absorbing drugs into the bloodstream).

However, do keep in mind that the effectiveness of a single herbal medicine does not change the effectiveness of other herbal medicines.

Re:Medical conspiracy!

[The Flymaster]

Well, not to speak for ginko or non-science, but it's not like eating weeds that grow in exotic jungles hasn't helped save a life or two.

regardless of its medicinal value

[circletimessquare]

the ginkgo tree itself is pretty amazing: its the coelacanth of trees

known only from the ancient fossil record, having aspects of a missing link between major plant classifications, and with no other living relatives by a long shot (at least from the perspective of western science). until isolated specimens were located, to western expert's amazed awe, in 1690. it was cultivated in the east, and this probably led to its survival, since the only populations anyone can consider wild are only in a tiny mountain reserve in eastern china... but even this group of trees might only exist because it was tended by monks for millenia, ironically for this story, probably because of medicinal value

in other words, the coelacanth of trees may only continue to exist in this world due to the efforts of ancient man, the inverse relationship between extinction and mankind. either way, if you've ever looked at a ginkgo leaf, you can readily appreciate how ancient and alien the plant is. its like a tiny fan, a completely unique morphology unlike any other leaf you have ever seen on any other plant

Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba; in Chinese and Japanese , pinyin romanization: yín xìng, Hepburn romanization: ich or ginnan), also spelled gingko, also known as the Maidenhair Tree after Adiantum, is a unique species of tree with no close living relatives. The ginkgo is classified in its own division, the Ginkgophyta, comprising the single class Ginkgoopsida, order Ginkgoales, family Ginkgoaceae, genus Ginkgo and is the only extant species within this group. It is one of the best-known examples of a living fossil, because Ginkgoales other than G. biloba are not known from the fossil record after the Pliocene.[1][3]
For centuries it was thought to be extinct in the wild, but is now known to grow in at least two small areas in Zhejiang province in Eastern China, in the Tian Mu Shan Reserve. However, recent studies indicate high genetic uniformity among ginkgo trees from these areas, arguing against a natural origin of these populations and suggesting that the ginkgo trees in these areas may have been planted and preserved by Chinese monks over a period of about 1000 years.[4] Whether native ginkgo populations still exist has not been demonstrated unequivocally.
The relationship of Ginkgo to other plant groups remains uncertain. It has been placed loosely in the divisions Spermatophyta and Pinophyta, but no consensus has been reached. Since Ginkgo seeds are not protected by an ovary wall, it can morphologically be considered a gymnosperm. The apricot-like structures produced by female ginkgo trees are technically not fruits, but are seeds that have a shell that consists of a soft and fleshy section (the sarcotesta), and a hard section (the sclerotesta).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginkgo_biloba [wikipedia.org]

Re:That's just Western prejudice

[tgatliff]

Tests like these are flawed from the beginning, and I am sure that these scientists know this. The trick that is always played by supplement manufactures are to set the dosages much lower than what is required to reduce side effects. Meaning, for any "drug" to work, there will always be side effects.

For Ginko, the effective dosage is around 600mg per day, and I can tell you from years of experience that it works quite well at this dosage. There are many side effects in some people at this dosage, however. Also, it is a very powerful blood thinner as well, however, so this side effect can be quite dangerous for some people as well. None of this is a problem at 120mg, however, which is why it showed no improvement.

Re:That's just Western prejudice

[TheCarp]

Another thing is, we shouldn't expect it to be able to do anything.

If I give you a sugar pill and tell you it will cause tachycardia (and, if needed explain what that means), and give it to people, I would expect a significant number to report racing hearts. However, you can feel your heart, so there is a feedback loop, and its beat can be effected by mood, thought etc. (to some degree even consciously controlled)

However, if I say it "increases blood flow in your calf"... I might expect you to report strange sensations in your calf... but I wouldn't really expect to see actual increased blood flow there (as opposed to anywhere else from heart rate changes).

How needed are placebos on tests that look at physical things like, tumor size? I have yet to find any credible link between believing that your tumor will shrink and having it happen.

On the other hand, memory and cognitive skills can be effected by mood and psychological process. So I think the placebo makes sense to rule out cognitive differences based on differences in your actions based on the belief that the pill might be helping.

can't buy me love

[Onymous Coward]

What herbal remedies do you recommend?

My drug recommendations all come with the serious urging that you research deeply on your own. That includes my recommendations for plant-derived or synthetic, brand-name drugs. Do you think gobbling down Tagamet and aspirin, just because you can buy them off the drug store shelf, without an understanding of drug metabolization is a good idea?

For difficulty sleeping or resetting a sleep schedule, for antioxidant effect, plant-derived melatonin. As such a fundamental neurochemical, you'll want to be careful about your usage. A specific effect to be wary of is immunomodulation.

Kavalactones present in the Kava plant are anxiolytics — they have anti-anxiety effects. They work on GABA receptors, similarly to alcohol, but don't have the same stupefying effects. If using the raw plant, do not take leaves and stems, only the root, macerated in water, per the traditional use. As with all drugs, take in moderation.

For mental stimulation and performance, caffeine from green tea (or coffee). Also theobromine from cacao. Also cinnamon scent (go ahead, look it up). And again Kava. Flaxseed meal (alpha-linolenic acid, which converts to EPA and DHA — omega-3s), walnuts, etc.

For bronchodilation, theophylline from cacao.

For anti-emetic (nausea/vomiting, including motion sickness), ginger (active ingredient zingiberene). Perhaps marijuana.

For mood, theobromine from cacao, kavalactones from Kava, plant-derived melatonin, caffeine. Plant-derived 5-HTP (beware interactions with MAOIs and SSRIs). I'd suggest looking into St. John's Wort, but I haven't delved deeply into it myself except to note that it's a drug metabolization inhibitor, and so requires special care regarding interaction. The first thing to do with poor mood is not to begin applying drugs anyway, plant-based or synthetic.

For energy level, caffeine from green tea or elsewhere, theobromine (cacao), cocaine (coca).

For anti-inflammation, depending on severity, curcumin (turmeric), eugenol (cloves), and zingiberene (ginger), bromelain (pineapple), papain (papaya), alpha-linolenic acid (flaxseeds), cinnamon. Maybe

For digestion, ginger, pineapple, papaya.

Surely that's a big enough list that you can find something wrong in it. I know you're looking for chinks in armor.

Why do you believe that these remedies are effective?

Reading. Broad-spectrum data factoring (e.g., including absence of certain kinds of information) anchored mostly by published studies (with an appropriate eye towards credibility). You? (Seriously. How do you know about your own choices?)

How do these remedies compare to the drugs that target the same complaints in both cost and effectiveness?

Well, gee, which ones? How about the anti-inflammatories... NSAIDs have an issue with promoting GI irritation and stomach bleeding. If you've got ulcers already, IBD or Crohn's or Coeliac Disease, NSAIDs will be pretty hard on you. On the other hand, the degree of inflammation present in autoimmune disorders is probably not the right scenario for trying to address solely with eugenol/zingiberene/curcumin. But back on the gripping hand, adding these to your diet can only help.

Side-effects and come-down from SSRIs are pretty gnarly, especially in the suicide cases. Make sure not to miss your doses.

Green tea can be pretty expensive, I admit. But, whatever. Ginger, turmeric, cloves... not that expensive and serve dual purpose as freakin' spices. Kava's pretty pricey, I have to say, but I quite like it. If anyone knows a good source of quality root, please chime in. I expect whole root to be less expensive than capsule or tincture preparations.

What qualifies you to be making medicinal recommendations to others? Do you have relevant training?

Do you have the relevant training as a consumer