| Disease | A STUDY AIMED AT ASSESSING WHETHER ACUTE ADMINISTRATION OF GINKGO BILOBA HAD ANY CONSISTENT EFFECT ON THE FOUR CDR FACTORS. METHODS:THE STUDY UTILISED A PLACEBO-CONTROLLED, MULTI-DOSE, DOUBLE-BLIND, BALANCED, CROSSOVER DESIGN.
TWENTY PARTICIPANTS RECEIVED 120 MG, 240 MG AND 360 MG OF A STANDARDISED EXTRACT OF GINKGO (GK501, PHARMATON, SA) OR A MATCHING PLACEBO. COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE WAS ASSESSED USING THE CDR COMPUTERISED TEST BATTERY IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO DOSING AND
AT 1, 2.5, 4 AND 6 H THEREAFTER. THE PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES WERE THE FOUR ASPECTS OF COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE, WHICH HAVE PREVIOUSLY BEEN DERIVED BY FACTOR ANALYSIS OF CDR SUBTESTS. RESULTS:COMPARED WITH THE PLACEBO, ADMINISTRATION OF GINKGO
PRODUCED A NUMBER OF SIGNIFICANT CHANGES ON THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES. THE MOST STRIKING OF THESE WAS A DOSE-DEPENDENT IMPROVEMENT OF THE 'SPEED OF ATTENTION' FACTOR FOLLOWING BOTH 240 MG AND 360 MG OF THE EXTRACT, WHICH WAS EVIDENT AT 2.5 H AND
WAS STILL PRESENT AT 6 H. |