Wednesday Aug 6, 2014 (foodconsumer.org) -- Canevelli  et al. at "Sapienza" University in Rome, Italy suggested in a report published in Phytomedicine that Ginkgo biloba supplementation may help Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients receiving cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs).

Prior research has indicated that Ginkgo biloba as a herbal remedy may be used for cognitive disorders and Alzheimer’s disease.  The current study was to determine whether Ginkgo biloba could benefit AD patients already receiving cholinesterase inhibitors.

In the study, some of 828 participants received the combinational treatment with Ginkgo biloba and cholinesterase inhibitors and the rest were treated with cholinesterase inhibitors only for one year.  Over the 12-month follow-up, patients were assessed twice using the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive (ADAS-Cog) subscale score, and the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) scale.

As a result, a significant difference in the MMSE score was found between the two treatments while no difference was found in the ADAS-Cog score and the ADL score.

The study concluded "Our findings suggest that Gb (Ginkgo biloba) may provide some added cognitive benefits in AD (Alzheimer's disease) patients already under ChEIs treatment."

Canevelli M, Adali N, Kelaiditi E, Cantet C, Ousset PJ, Cesari M; ICTUS/DSA Group.  Effects of Ginkgo biloba supplementation in Alzheimer's disease patients receiving cholinesterase inhibitors: data from the ICTUS study.  Phytomedicine. 2014 May 15;21(6):888-92.