MSNBC STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS Aug. 20 — A new study suggests ginkgo supplements do nothing to quickly improve memory in healthy people, a finding that goes against years of well-publicized claims that helped turn the supplements into a multimillion-dollar industry.

EARLY studies suggested the over-the-counter supplements, made using extract from the fan-shaped leaves of the ginkgo biloba tree, could boost mental function in people with and without mild dementia.

But those studies had methodological flaws and were too short to measure a true effect, according to the authors of the new study.

The study, reported in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association, involved 230 people over age 60 who had no signs of memory impairment. Half took the recommended dosage of 40 milligrams of ginkgo three times daily for at least four weeks, while the rest took a placebo.

The result: Gingko supplements worked no better to improve memory than dummy pills over a six-week period. Some of the supplements are advertised to have a noticeable benefit in four weeks. “We don’t see any benefit,” said lead author Paul Solomon, a psychology professor at Williams College.

The subjects were also rated by friends and relatives, who also noticed no appreciable changes in their mental acuity, he said. HERB SUPPORTERS SPEAK OUT

Supporters of herbal remedies countered that the latest study was just one among dozens, many of which have shown ginkgo can help sharpen the mind, especially in those suffering mild to moderate mental impairment.

“When taken by mentally impaired older adults, ginkgo produced significant improvements in short-term memory and combined scores on cognitive tests,” Michael McGuffin, president of the American Herbal Products Association, said.

McGuffin faulted the research for not altering the dosage and the length of the study, adding there was a long history of antagonism between the medical establishment and believers in herbal remedies.

Some herbalists prefer to make their own herbal treatments from natural ingredients, he said, which might have a more pronounced effectiveness.

But Solomon said his study, funded by the government and two foundations, involved the same type of rigorous testing required by the Food and Drug Administration for pharmaceutical drugs, though supplements like gingko are not FDA-regulated.

-- Anonymous, August 20, 2002

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The same battery of mental tests was given at the beginning and end of the study. While both groups’ scores improved the same slight amount, that likely was because they’d taken the tests before, Solomon said.

Ginkgo is thought to exert its beneficial effects by improving blood flow to small veins and capillaries, ostensibly helping deliver oxygen to the brain. It also contains antioxidants, substances that absorb chemicals called free radicals produced during metabolism that are thought to damage cells.

ALZHEIMER’S STUDY ONGOING

Dr. Steven DeKosky, chairman of the University of Pittsburgh’s neurology department, said the study doesn’t address whether larger doses taken for a longer duration or taken by people who already have memory problems would be beneficial.

DeKosky is the lead researcher in a government-funded study examining whether ginkgo in doses equal or double those in the JAMA study can help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Participants in his study are older than 75, have normal mental function or slight memory problems and are taking ginkgo for five years. Resources on supplements • National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine • Office of Dietary Supplements • American Dietetic Association • American Botanical Council • ConsumerLab.com Solomon said it’s possible ginkgo pills would show some mental benefits in healthy people if taken longer than six weeks, the study’s duration. But he noted that the tablets used in the study, Pharmaton Natural Health Products’ Ginkoba, are marketed as producing noticeable benefits after just four weeks at the study’s dose, 120 milligrams daily.

Pharmaton’s David Morrison said the findings are from a single study that doesn’t “negate the vast body of evidence showing that ginkgo biloba is effective.”

A six-year, $15 million study is testing ginkgo in 1,500 people ages 75 and older to see whether it reduces the incidence of dementia and Alzheimer's disease more than a placebo. Changes in cognitive function and mortality will also be measured. The project is expected to be completed in 2005.

-- Anonymous, August 20, 2002

well, if it doesn't hurt ya none...

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2002

Call it a placebo effect but it's either the gingko or the ginseng that helps me with my memory problems.

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2002

but you can't remember which? LOL

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2002

Note that the study was conducted using people "who had no signs of memory impairment." Ginko biloba's effects are most often seen in those already suffering from some degree of memory loss. So the "study" was set up to fail from the beginning, IMO.

Cash (who has been away a looooong time)

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2002

Welcome back, Cash! Pull up a chair and tell us what's been happening.

-- Anonymous, August 23, 2002