Ginkgo biloba does not improve cognitive function in MS

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether Ginkgo biloba extract (ginkgo) improves cognitive function in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS). were randomly assigned to receive either one 120-mg tablet of ginkgo (EGb-761; Willmar Schwabe GmbH & Co, Germany) or one placebo tablet twice a day for 12 weeks. As the primary outcome, we compared the performance of the 2 groups on the 4 tests at exit after adjusting for baseline performance. MethodsResults: Fifty-nine subjects received placebo and 61 received ginkgo; 1 participant receiving placebo and 3 receiving ginkgo were lost to follow-up. Two serious adverse events (AEs) (myocardial infarction and severe depression) believed to be unrelated to the treatment occurred in the ginkgo group; otherwise, there were no significant differences in AEs. The differences (ginkgo Ϫ placebo) at exit in the z scores for the cognitive tests were as follows: PASAT Ϫ0.2 (95% confidence interval [CI] Ϫ0.5 to 0.1); Stroop Test Ϫ0.5 (95% CI Ϫ0.9 to Ϫ0.1); COWAT 0.0 (95% CI Ϫ0.2 to 0.3); and CVLT-II 0.0 (95% CI Ϫ0.3 to 0.3); none was statistically significant. Conclusions:Treatment with ginkgo 120 mg twice a day did not improve cognitive performance in persons with MS. Classification of evidence:This study provides Class I evidence that treatment with ginkgo 120 mg twice a day for 12 weeks does not improve cognitive performance in people with MS.

Complementary and alternative treatments of multiple sclerosis: a review of the evidence from 2001 to 2016

“…Four of these present class I evidence, three studying cannabis22–24 and one studying Ginkgo biloba supplementation 25. The remaining 34 studies present class II evidence (table 1).…”

“…It also resulted in a sustained reversal of disability in 12.6% of treated patients, which was significantly more than the control (0 patient). Lovera et al ,25 a class I double-blind RCT analysing 116 participants, found that Ginkgo extract does not have a significant effect on cognitive function compared with a placebo, but is well tolerated.…”

Cognitive Impairment and Community Integration Outcomes in Individuals Living With Multiple Sclerosis

“…Study procedures were approved by both 97 sites' Institutional Review Boards. Participants were recruited as part of a previously reported 98 trial comparing the effects of ginkgo biloba versus placebo in individuals with MS. 27 The present 99 data were collected from participants at baseline, prior to randomization. Participants were 100 recruited from both sites' MS clinics, their affiliated university clinics, and their local 101 communities.…”

Sleep and its associations with perceived and objective cognitive impairment in individuals with multiple sclerosis

“…Future research will also benefit from the inclusion of validity and effort measures, which were not administered in the present study. Third, given the eligibility criteria of the original trial for which the present data were derived (Lovera et al ., ), present results may not generalize to the full MS population. Future studies will benefit from the inclusion of participants across the full spectrum of these measures.…”