108
function in Alzheimer's disease after 3 to 6 months of treatment with 120 to 240 mg
per day of EGb 761."^9
The 2010 edition of the Natural Standard continues to list use of ginkgo for “dementia
(multi-infact and Alzheimer’s type)” in the “A” category, “strong scientific evidence for
this use,” stating: “The scientific literature overall does suggest that ginkgo benefits
people with early stage Alzheimer's disease and multi-infarct dementia and may be as
helpful as acetylcholinesterase inhibitor drugs such as donepezil (Aricept).”^10 The
Natural Standard also states that “good” evidence demonstrates ginkgo's efficacy in the
treatment of "cerebral insufficiency" (a syndrome secondary to atherosclerotic disease,
characterized by impaired concentration, confusion, decreased physical performance,
fatigue, headache, dizziness, depression, and anxiety, and commonly diagnosed in
Europe). This is the “B” category: “good scientific evidence for this use.” Significantly,
the 2010 edition of the Natural Standard does not cite the 2008 GEM study.
Brown et al., while agreeing that there is a small but significant effect of 3 to 6 months
of treatment with 120 to 240 mg per day of ginkgo extract on memory, describe these
effects as “slight at best.”^11
However, Brown, et al. consider ginkgo to have neuro-protective effects and benefits for
vascular dementia.^12
Writing in Brown et al. II, Diamond, B.J. and Bailey, M.R., while citing all of the recent
negative data, still summarize that ginkgo, “has shown potential in ameliorating the
effects of a variety of symptoms and disorders.”^13
The Mayo Clinic is counted as a negative because it relies on the 2008 NCCAM-funded
study and the 2009 Cochran Collaboration meta-analysis to conclude that: "Ginkgo
doesn't reduce the risk of Alzheimer's or other dementias." But Mayo, like Brown et al.,
remains optimistic for an ongoing neuro-protective role, acknowledging that “some
evidence” shows ginkgo to “benefit” early-stage Alzheimer’s disease and “some
dementia,” and to be as helpful as “some [prescription] drugs.” Mayo gives ginkgo a
yellow “caution” light, stating that while studies have produced “some encouraging
results for the use of ginkgo as the treatment of certain circulation disorders and what