Dementia and ginkgo biloba

Ginkgo biloba, 120 mg twice a day, was not effective in reducing the overall incidence of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease in older people with normal cognition, or those with mild cognitive impairment. This is shown in a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted in five academic centres in the USA between 2000 and 2008 with a follow-up of 6.1 years. Over 3000 community volunteers aged 75 years or older with normal cognition (n = 2587) or mild cognitive impairment (n = 482) took part in the study. Of these, 533 people developed dementia (246 receiving placebo and 277 receiving Ginkgo biloba). The overall rate of dementia was 3.3 per 100 person-years in people assigned to Ginkgo biloba and 2.9 per 100 person-years in those who were given placebo.

JAMA 2008;300:2253–62.

Deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease

In patients with advanced …