Like many other chronic degenerative diseases, Alzheimer’s appears to be caused to a large degree by oxidative damage. 3 There is mounting evidence that antioxidant factors may help …Introduction Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia in the elderly. This condition is characterized by a progressive loss of memory, deterioration of virtually all intellectual functions, increased apathy, decreased speech function, disorientation, and gait irregularities. It is also one of the best known and important of all …

Nutritional Therapy Ginkgo Biloba Ginkgo biloba is an herbal medicine that has been used to treat a variety of ailments for thousands of years in China. An extract of ginkgo biloba has been found in several studies to improve the symptoms and slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. A study of 309 patients with mild dementia was performed. The patients were given either 120 milligrams of ginkgo biloba extract or placebo every day for up to a year.21 At the six-month point, 27 percent of those using ginkgo had moderate improvement on a variety of cognitive tests. Only 14 percent of those using placebo had an improvement on these tests. In a separate trial, 112 patients with chronic cerebral insufficiency received 120 milligrams per day of ginkgo biloba extract.22 The researchers found that the use of this extract led to significant improvements in blood and oxygen flow. Restricted blood and oxygen flow to the brain may be an important factor in the development of Alzheimer’s. Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) appears to be most effective in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. This could potentially mean that patients with early Alzheimer’s may be able to prevent being placed in a nursing home and to maintain a reasonably normal life. GBE has been shown to have the ability to normalize the acetylcholine receptors in the hippocampus area of the brain (the area most affected by the disease) in aged animals.23 GBE has also demonstrated the ability to increase cholinergic activity and to provide improvements in other aspects of the disease.24 A double-blind study of 216 Alzheimer’s patients or dementia caused by small strokes found that 240 milligrams of GBE daily led to significant improvements in a variety of clinical parameters when compared to placebo.25 The most effective form of GBE is one that is standardized to a concentration of 24 percent Ginkgo flavoglycosides. A study compared the effectiveness of the most common Alzheimer’s drugs, such as donepezil and rivastigmine, to that of a Ginkgo extract called EGb 761.26 The researchers determined that EGb761 was as effective as any of these commonly-prescribed drugs in treating the symptoms of Alzheimer’s patients. In general, various forms of Gingko have been found to be safe, but in individuals who take aspirin or other anticoagulant drugs, Gingko should be taken with great caution and with the advice of a physician.

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