Not a stitch too soon

“A stitch in time, saves nine,” goes the old Ben Franklin proverb. But once a repair becomes necessary, sometimes no amount of sewing will correct what one or two timely stitches might have prevented.

This metaphor is especially true of Alzheimer’s disease. All too often, Alzheimer’s is diagnosed too late to employ early measures that might have considerably slowed down the degenerative process. In fact, a study I told you about last August (“Beautiful Brain” 8/7/02) found that in approximately 80% of AD cases, general practitioners may be ignoring or simply not acting when their patients or their caregivers report early symptoms of AD.

Now, a recent report from the UK has provided validation of a long-held theory about a natural treatment for the first stages of Alzheimer’s – making early diagnosis just that much more critical.

“New Study a Blow to Ginkgo’s Reputation.” That was the headline of an article that appeared on CNN’s web site last August. And it was typical of the mainstream media coverage of a Williams College study that tested the efficacy of ginkgo biloba on cognitive function. I told you about this study in an e-Alert (“No Thanks for the Memories” 8/26/02) that showed the glaring weaknesses of the Williams research. Most notably, the trail period lasted only 6 weeks. In other words, given six additional weeks, or four, or perhaps even as little as two, the researchers would have very likely seen better results. But this fact was completely overlooked by soundbite-hungry news outlets that almost gleefully reported ginkgo’s failure.

It’s more than a little ironic that on the very same week that MSNBC, Reuters and others joined with CNN in comparing ginkgo with snake oil, the Alzheimer’s Society in the United Kingdom sent out a press release stating that new research had provided promising evidence that ginkgo biloba may improve both memory and overall function for people with dementia. And did we hear a peep out of CNN about that one? Do you have to ask?

On October 21, 2002, the Alzheimer’s Society and the Cochrane Collaboration published what they called the largest comprehensive review on the use of ginkgo biloba for the treatment of dementia. The Cochrane Collaboration is an international, not-for-profit organization that oversees systematic reviews of health care interventions. In the case of this report, they examined 33 previous clinical trials of ginkgo – some of them dating back as far as the mid-70’s.

A few of the trials – especially the early ones – were small and used unsatisfactory methods. But the Cochrane researchers concluded that, overall, the studies show convincing evidence that ginkgo biloba may benefit cognition, emotional function, and activities of daily living in patients who are in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Furthermore, in less than 3 months, many patients experienced positive results using a dosage of less than 200 mg per day. There were also no significant differences in adverse side effects between ginkgo and placebo groups in the various studies.

Based on these findings, the Alzheimer’s Society has committed 250,000 to underwrite a new 6-month trial to study the effects of ginkgo on 400 subjects in the early stages of dementia. The research will be administrated by Imperial College London and the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital.

For many years, supporters of ginkgo biloba have made the claim that the herb not only sharpens cognition for healthy people, but also helps address the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Ginkgo is believed to perform two primary functions that create these positive results: by dilating blood vessels, while at the same time thinning the blood, making it less likely to clot. In addition, ginkgo may also produce antioxidant effects that protect nerve cells in the brain from deterioration.

If the upcoming Alzheimer’s Society study provides results as convincing as the Cochrane Collaboration report promises they might be, we could very well see ginkgo biloba inch a little further toward mainstream acceptance. And who knows? The day may even come when CNN believes that positive headlines about ginkgo are more eye-catching than negative ones.

In the meantime, I’ll keep a close watch through my UK sources and will report to you as soon as the new study is concluded and published.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute