HHS HealthBeat (December 18, 2008)

No go ginkgo

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

The herbal supplement Ginkgo biloba has been touted as a way to help people think and remember better. So researchers tested ginkgo to see if it could help prevent dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.

The scientists had more than 3,000 people ages 75 and older – who had normal thinking ability at the start – take ginkgo or a fake substitute. They followed up to look for any benefit for people who got ginkgo.

Steven DeKosky of the University of Virginia did the work while at the University of Pittsburgh. He says the results were disappointing:

``The test results showed us that, under these circumstances, ginkgo don’t appear to have any effect of slowing down thinking changes in late life.’’ (7 seconds)

The study in the Journal of the American Medical Association was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

Last revised: December, 18 2008