Citations from the Medline database for the genus Ginkgo

Agnoli A.

Clinical and psychometric aspects of the therapeutic effects of GBE.

In: Effects of GBE and Organic Cerebral Impairment, Paris, London, John Lilley, 1985.

Allain H Raoul P Lieury A LeCoz F Gandon JM d'Arbigny P

Effect of two doses of ginkgo biloba extract (EGb 761) on the dual- coding test in elderly subjects.

In: Clin Ther (1993 May-Jun) 15(3):549-58

The subjects of this double-blind study were 18 elderly men and women (mean age, 69.3 years) with slight age-related memory impairment. In a crossover-study design, each subject received placebo or an extract of Ginkgo biloba (EGb 761) (320 mg or 600 mg) 1 hour before performing a dual-coding test that measures the speed of information processing; the test consists of several coding series of drawings and words presented at decreasing times of 1920, 960, 480, 240, and 120 ms. The dual-coding phenomenon (a break point between coding verbal material and images) was demonstrated in all the tests. After placebo, the break point was observed at 960 ms and dual coding beginning at 1920 ms. After each dose of the ginkgo extract, the break point (at 480 ms) and dual coding (at 960 ms) were significantly shifted toward a shorter presentation time, indicating an improvement in the speed of information processing.

Allard M

Treatment of the disorders of aging with Ginkgo biloba extract. From pharmacology to clinical medicine

In: PRESSE MED 1986 Sep 25; 15(31):1540-5 (Published in FRENCH)

Ginkgo biloba extract is prescribed in psychic and behavioural disorders of the elderly, in peripheral vascular deficiency and in functional disorders of ischaemic origin in the E.N.T. and eye areas. Numerous controlled clinical trials justify these prescriptions and are in agreement with the pharmacological data currently available. Experimentally, Ginkgo biloba extract has proved active on the circulatory and rheological functions, on neuronal metabolism threatened by ischaemia or hypoxia, on neurotransmission and on membrane lesions caused by free oxygenated radicals. Concerning Alzheimer's disease and dementia, no firm conclusion can be drawn for the time being due to the lack of animal model. However, experimental data suggest that the product may act on a number of major elements of these diseases. From what is already known about Ginkgo biloba extract, it appears that it fulfills the conditions laid down by the W.H.O. concerning the development of drugs effective against cerebral ageing.

Apaydin C Oguz Y Agar A Yargicoglu P Demir N Aksu G

Visual evoked potentials and optic nerve histopathology in normal and diabetic rats and effect of ginkgo biloba extract.

In: Acta Ophthalmol (Copenh) (1993 Oct) 71(5):623-8

The purpose of this study was to test the possible therapeutic role of ginkgo biloba extract on the impairment of visual function and pathological histology of the optic nerve caused by early diabetes. Ginkgo biloba extract entraps oxygenated free radicals and is also a strong inhibitor of the platelet activation factor (PAF). For this purpose, VEP recordings and optic nerve histopathology were studied on alloxan diabetic and normal Swiss albino rats in four experimental groups. The VEP recordings showed no statistical significance between diabetic and normal rats. However, the amplitudes were significantly increased in diabetic animals with ginkgo biloba extract compared with the diabetics, supposing an impression of axonal protection. But the amplitude values were decreased in normal rats treated with the same extract compared with normal animals, assuming a toxic activity. Optic nerve ultrastructural findings also confirmed these VEP changes. It was concluded that this extract could be encouraging for human clinical trials of diabetes.