Ginkgo biloba for mild to moderate dementia in a community setting: a pragmatic, randomised, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
OBJECTIVE
Doubt over the cost-effectiveness of the cholinesterase inhibitors in dementia has renewed interest in alternative treatments such as Ginkgo biloba. We aimed to determine the effectiveness and the safety profile of Ginkgo biloba for treating early stage dementia in a community setting.


METHODS
We conducted a community-based, pragmatic, randomised, double-blind, parallel-group trial where participants were given a standardised extract of Ginkgo biloba (120 mg daily) or a placebo control for 6 months. Our primary outcomes were cognitive functioning (ADAS-Cog) and participant and carer-rated quality of life (QOL-AD).


RESULTS
We recruited 176 participants, mainly through general practices. In the ANCOVA model with baseline score as a co-variate (n = 176), Ginkgo did not have a significant effect on outcome at six months on either the ADAS-Cog score (p = 0.392), the participant-rated QOL-AD score (p = 0.787) nor the carer-rated QOL-AD score (p = 0.222).


CONCLUSIONS
We found no evidence that a standard dose of high purity Ginkgo biloba confers benefit in mild-moderate dementia over 6 months.
McCarney
Rob
R
Department of Psychological Medicine, Imperial College London, UK. robmccarney@googlemail.com
Fisher
Peter
P
Iliffe
Steve
S
van Haselen
Robbert
R
Griffin
Mark
M
van der Meulen
Jan
J
Warner
James
J
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects*; D003704:Dementia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D020441:Ginkgo biloba; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011788:Quality of Life; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D010936:Plant Extracts