A study published in the Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Disease confirms that extracts of one of the oldest plants in existence today, the ‘living fossil’ known as Gingko biloba, protects against stroke-related neurologic deficits in human subjects.[1]

Researchers at the University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran, lead a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized controlled trial, in order to assess the efficacy of Gingko biloba on functional outcome in patients with acute stroke. In order to measure functional outcome they used The National Institutes of Heath Stroke Scale (NIHSS), a 15-item neurologic examination stroke scale used to evaluate the effect of acute cerebral infarction on the levels of consciousness, language, neglect, visual-field loss, extraocular movement, motor strength, ataxia, dysarthria, and sensory loss.[2]

A total of 102 patients with acute ischemic stroke were studied. 52 patients received Ginko biloba and 50 patients placebo tablets, both for 4 months.[3]  The primary outcome of treatment was a 50% reduction in the 4-month follow-up NIHSS score compared to the baseline NIHSS score, and was was reached in 17 patients (58.6%) and 5 patients (18.5%) in the Gingko biloba and placebo groups, respectively. When results were adjusted via multivariate regression for age and sex, there was observed a significant NIHSS decline in the Gingko biloba group compared to the placebo group. Continue reading →