| Disease | EVALUATION OF THE THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF GINKGO BILOBA EXTRACT(GBE) ON GLAUCOMA PATIENTS THAT MAY BENEFIT FROM IMPROVEMENTS IN OCULAR BLOOD FLOW. A PHASE 1 CROSS-OVER TRIAL OF GBE WITH PLACEBO CONTROL IN 11 HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS(8 WOMEN, 3 MEN: AGE;
34 +/- 3 YRS, MEAN +/- SE) WS PERFORMED. PATIENTS WERE TREATED WITH EITHER GBE 40 MG OR PLACEBO 3 X DAILY ORALLY, FOR 2 DAYS. COLOR DOPPLER IMAGING(SIEMENS QUANTUM 2000) WAS USED TO MEASURE OCULAR BLOOD FLOW BEFORE AND AFTER TREATMENT. THERE WAS
A TWO WEEK WASHOUT PERIOD BETWEEN GBE AND PLACEBO TREATMENT. GINKGO BILOBA EXTRACT SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED END DIASTOLIC VELOCITY (SDV) IN THE OPHTHALMIC ARTERY (OA)(BASELINE VS GBE-TREATMENT; 6.5 =?- 0.5 VS 7.7 +/- 0.5 CM/SEC, 3% CHANGE,
P=0.023), WITH NO CHANGE SEEN IN PLACEBO(BASELINE VS BGE-TREATMENT; 7.2 +/- 0.6 VS 7.1 +/- 0.5 CM/SEC, 3% CHANGE, P=0.892). NO SIDE EFFECTS RELATED TO BBE WERE FOUND. GINKGO BILOBA EXTRACT DID NOT ALTER ARTERIAL BLOOD PRESSURE, HEART RATE, OR
IOP. GINKGO BILOBA EXTRACT SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED EDV IN THE OA AND DESERVES FURTHER INVESTIGATION IN OCULAR BLOOD FLOW AND NEUROPROTECTION FOR POSSIBLE APPLICATION TO THE TREATMENT OF GLAUCOMATIOUS OPTAIC NEUROPATHY AS WELL AS OTHER ISCHEMIC
OCULAR DISEASES. |