http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v288n7/rfull/joc11334.html
Ginkgo
for Memory Enhancement
A
Randomized Controlled Trial
Paul
R. Solomon, PhD; Felicity Adams, BA; Amanda Silver, BA; Jill Zimmer, BA;
Richard DeVeaux, PhD
Context Several over-the-counter
treatments are marketed as having the ability to improve memory, attention, and
related cognitive functions in as little as 4 weeks. These claims, however, are
generally not supported by well-controlled clinical studies.
Objective To evaluate whether
ginkgo, an over-the-counter agent marketed as enhancing memory, improves memory
in elderly adults as measured by objective neuropsychological tests and
subjective ratings.
Design Six-week randomized,
double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial.
Setting
and Participants Community-dwelling volunteer men (n = 98) and
women (n = 132) older than 60 years with Mini-Mental State Examination scores
greater than 26 and in generally good health were recruited by a US academic
center via newspaper advertisements and enrolled over a 26-month period from
July 1996 to September 1998.
Intervention Participants were
randomly assigned to receive ginkgo, 40 mg 3 times per day (n = 115), or
matching placebo (n = 115).
Main
Outcome Measures Standardized neuropsychological tests of verbal
and nonverbal learning and memory, attention and concentration, naming and
expressive language, participant self-report on a memory questionnaire, and
caregiver clinical global impression of change as completed by a companion.
Results Two hundred three
participants (88%) completed the protocol. Analysis of the modified
intent-to-treat population (all 219 participants returning for evaluation)
indicated that there were no significant differences between treatment groups
on any outcome measure. Analysis of the fully evaluable population (the 203 who
complied with treatment and returned for evaluation) also indicated no
significant differences for any outcome measure.
Conclusions The results of this
6-week study indicate that ginkgo did not facilitate performance on standard
neuropsychological tests of learning, memory, attention, and concentration or
naming and verbal fluency in elderly adults without cognitive impairment. The
ginkgo group also did not differ from the control group in terms of
self-reported memory function or global rating by spouses, friends, and
relatives. These data suggest that when taken following the manufacturer's
instructions, ginkgo provides no measurable benefit in memory or related cognitive
function to adults with healthy cognitive function.
JAMA.
2002;288:835-840
Some
over-the-counter treatments are marketed as having the ability to improve
memory, attention, and related cognitive functions. These claims are generally
not supported by well-controlled clinical studies. Ginkoba claims to
"enhance mental focus and improve memory and concentration."1 Several published studies reported
beneficial effects of ginkgo on cognition. These studies, however, either
report cognitive improvement in only 1 of many memory tests administered2, 3 or report cognitive
enhancement in cognitively impaired clinical populations such as patients with
cerebrovascular or Alzheimer disease.4, 5 In contrast, advertising claims imply
that the compound is broadly beneficial to those both with and without
clinically significant cognitive impairments. Specific advertising claims cite
more than 50 clinical trials that demonstrate benefit centered around
concentration and memory. These studies were conducted for periods ranging from
14 days to 2 months. The manufacturer claims benefit with "at least 4
weeks of uninterrupted use."6
The
purpose of the present study was to evaluate ginkgo in healthy elderly
volunteers in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial using
standardized tests of memory, learning, attention and concentration, and
expressive language as well as subjective ratings by participants and family.
METHODS
Participants
Following
approval by the Williams College institutional review board, participants were
recruited from newspaper advertisements that solicited individuals who would
participate in a study designed to improve memory. An initial telephone
interview was conducted to determine if the participant was likely to meet
entry criteria for the study. Those who passed the screen provided informed
consent and a medical history including current medications, neurologic or
psychiatric illness, and incidence of head trauma, stroke, mental illness,
mental retardation, or life-threatening illness over the last 5 years.
Participants were included in the study if they were community dwelling, older
than 60 years, and could provide informed consent. They also needed to have a
companion who had contact with them on a regular basis (>4 times per week
for 1 hour) and was willing to complete a questionnaire. The baseline
Mini-Mental State Examination7 score was required to
be greater than 26. All participants reported to be independent in instrumental
activities of daily living including shopping, transportation, and managing
finances. Participants were excluded if they had a history of psychiatric or
neurologic disorder or had a life-threatening illness in the last 5 years. They
were also excluded if they had taken antidepressant or other psychoactive
medications in the past 60 days. A total of 338 community-dwelling participants
were screened over a 26-month period from July 1996 to September 1998, and 230
participants (98 men and 132 women) aged 60 to 82 years were randomized in the
study.
Study
Design
A
6-week double-blind placebo-controlled study was conducted at a single site. Figure 1 summarizes the study
participation. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 conditions: ginkgo
(Ginkoba, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals)1 or placebo control (1:1 ratio). Random assignment of
participants to each condition was determined by 1 of the investigators
(P.R.S.) using a table of random numbers.8 Medication was placed in sealed envelopes by a research assistant
and provided to the participants by 1 of 3 other investigators (F.A., A.S.,
J.Z.). Dosages for ginkgo were determined by following the manufacturer's label
instructions: 1 tablet (40 mg) 3 times a day, with meals. The placebo group
took lactose gelatin capsules of similar appearance and on the same schedule as
the ginkgo group. At the beginning of the double-blind period, participants
were provided with sealed and dated envelopes, each containing medication for 1
day.
One
day prior to taking ginkgo or placebo and again at the end of the 6-week
double-blind period (while still taking ginkgo and within 3 days of the end of
the study), participants underwent neuropsychological evaluation including
tests of learning, memory, attention and concentration, and expressive
language. They also completed a questionnaire regarding subjective impressions
of their memory. Additionally, at the end of the 6 weeks of treatment, the
companion was asked to complete a global questionnaire designed to provide an
overall impression of change in memory for the participant. Evaluators (F.A.,
A.S., J.Z.) were blinded to which randomized treatment the participants
received.
Participants
were contacted by telephone twice (at the end of weeks 2 and 4) during the
6-week period to evaluate compliance. They were excluded from the study if they
missed 6 doses in any 2-week period or did not take 3 consecutive doses. At
this time, they were asked to stop taking study medication. As an additional
measure of compliance, participants were asked to return all dated envelopes at
the end of the study.
Outcome
Measures
Outcome
measures consisted of the following standardized tests of learning, memory,
attention and concentration, expressive language, and mental status. Tests of
learning and memory included the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT),9 in which the participant is asked to
learn a 16-item shopping list over 5 trials and then to later recall and
subsequently recognize the information; the Logical Memory subscale of the
Wechsler Memory Scale–Revised (WMS-R),10 in which the participant is asked to recall paragraphs both
immediately after hearing them and then after a 30-minute delay; and the Visual
Reproduction subscale, in which the participant is asked to draw designs both
immediately after seeing them and after a 30-minute delay.
Tests
of attention and concentration included the Digit Symbol subscale of the
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–Revised (WAIS-R),11 in which the participant must rapidly
copy symbols that are paired with numbers; the Stroop Test,12 which requires the participant not to be
distracted by extraneous aspects of stimuli; the Digit Span (WMS-R), which
requires the participant to repeat increasingly longer strings of numbers immediately
after hearing them; and Mental Control (WMS-R), in which the participant must
recite strings of numbers and letters.
Tests
of expressive language included the Controlled Category Fluency test,12 which requires the participant to name
members of a particular category (animals) over a 1-minute period; and the
Boston Naming Test,13 which requires the
participant to name pictures of items.
Additionally,
the Memory Questionnaire14 as well as a global
evaluation completed by a spouse, relative, or friend with whom the patient had
regular contact (at least 4 interactions per week) was completed. The Memory
Questionnaire consisted of 27 questions that asked the participant to rate how
often certain memory lapses occurred. The participant answered on a 4-point
scale with descriptors used as anchors: 1 indicating very often, 2 indicating
sometimes, 3 indicating rarely, and 4 indicating not at all. The global
evaluation was based on the Caregiver Global Impression of Change rating scale.15 Informants were asked to indicate the
option that best described the change in memory over the preceding 6 weeks. The
options included: (1) very much improved, (2) much improved, (3) minimally
improved, (4) no change, (5) minimally worse, (6) much worse, or (7) very much
worse.
All
outcome measures, with the exception of the global evaluation, were
administered at both the beginning and end of the study. The global evaluation
was administered only at the end of the study. Participants who withdrew from
the study, or who were dropped because of noncompliance, were asked to return
at the end of the study for evaluation. Adverse events were not specifically
monitored in this study. Patients who experienced an adverse event were
instructed to discontinue study medication and to contact their primary care
physician.
Statistical
Methods
Analysis
for efficacy was performed on 2 participant samples: the modified
intent-to-treat primary analysis and the fully evaluable population. The
modified intent-to-treat population included all participants who were
randomized to treatment, underwent baseline analysis, received at least 1 dose
of study drug, and returned for posttreatment evaluation. The fully evaluable
population was defined as participants who completed 6 weeks of double-blind
treatment and who complied with the standards for taking medication.
Differences
in group means for all neuropsychological tests were assessed using both
individual t tests and repeated-measures analysis of variance in which
treatment condition served as the predictor and the cognitive tests served as
the repeated measures. The test by condition-interaction term was then tested
for statistical significance. Demographic variables were analyzed using the
individual t tests. Categorical variables were analyzed using the 2 test. Results were considered statistically
significant if differences reached the .05 level. Nonparametric analyses were
used to assess the changes from baseline to week 6 for the Caregiver Global
Impression of Change. We sought to detect differences of .05 SD with a power of
90% ( = .05), requiring a sample size of 172 participants.16 JMP version 5.0 (SAS Institute Inc,
Cary, NC) statistical software was used for all analyses.
RESULTS
A
total of 230 participants were enrolled in the study over a 26-month period,
with 203 participants (88%) completing the study (Figure 1). The percentage of
participants who completed the study did not differ significantly by treatment
group. Of the 27 participants who did not complete the study, 16 (7 ginkgo and
9 placebo) did not comply with the medication dosage regimen and 11 (4 ginkgo
and 7 placebo) withdrew consent. All participants were requested to return at
the end of week 6 for evaluation.
Modified
Intent-to-Treat Analysis
A
total of 219 participants (111 ginkgo and 108 placebo) returned at the end of
the 6-week period for reevaluation. This included the 203 participants who
completed the protocol as well as 13 of 16 participants (6 ginkgo and 7
placebo) who were noncompliant and 3 of the 11 participants (2 ginkgo and 1
placebo) who withdrew consent. The remaining 11 participants (4 ginkgo and 7
placebo) did not return for evaluation and were excluded from the analysis.
There were no significant differences between the ginkgo and placebo groups for
any of the outcome measures. Neither demographic characteristics nor
Mini-Mental State Examination scores varied as a function of treatment
condition at baseline (Table 1).
There
were no significant differences between the ginkgo and placebo groups on any of
the objective neuropsychological tests. In general, participants performed
better during their second evaluation than during their first, but there were
no significant test-by-treatment condition interactions as tested by a repeated-measures
analysis of variance (F14,172 = 0.099, overall P = .31). Superior
performance in all groups at the second testing session was likely due to a
practice effect.
When
tested by individual t tests, measures of attention and concentration, including
the Digit Symbol subscale of the WAIS-R, the Stroop Test, and the Mental
Control and Digit Span (forward and backward) subscales of the WMS-R, showed no
significant differences between the ginkgo and placebo groups (Table 2 and Figure 2). Similarly, tests of
verbal and nonverbal learning and memory, including the Logical Memory (I and
II) and Visual Reproduction (I and II) subscales of the WMS-R, and the CVLT
(initial acquisition, short and long delay, and recognition), also showed no
significant differences between the ginkgo and placebo groups. There were no
differences in tests of naming (Boston Naming Test) or verbal fluency
(Controlled Category Fluency) between the ginkgo and placebo groups. Finally,
self-report on the Memory Questionnaire was scored on a scale of 27 to 108 with
higher scores indicating more difficulties. There was no difference in the mean
reported scores for participants in the ginkgo and placebo groups (P = .26).
At
the end of the second testing session, participants were asked if they thought
they had been taking ginkgo or placebo. Self-report in the ginkgo group
indicated that 79 participants (71%) thought they were takingT ginkgo, and
self-report in the placebo group indicated that 81 participants (75%) thought
they were taking ginkgo (P = .49). Informant response to the global rating
indicated no difference between the ginkgo and placebo groups (P = .76). Table 3 shows the distribution
of responses.
Figure
2 shows
the 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for differences (treatment group minus
control) for performance on each test in the modified intent-to-treat analysis.
Each interval contains a zero, indicating that none of the differences are
statistically significant. Moreover, 7 of the point estimates are positive
(favoring ginkgo) and 7 are negative (favoring placebo).
Evaluable
Participant Analysis
A
total of 203 participants completed the protocol (fully evaluable population).
There were no significant differences between the ginkgo and placebo groups for
any outcome measure (Table 2).
COMMENT
The
results of this 6-week study indicate that ginkgo, marketed over-the-counter as
a memory enhancer, did not enhance performance on standard neuropsychological
tests of learning, memory, naming and verbal fluency, or attention and
concentration. Moreover, there were no differences between ginkgo participants
and placebo controls on subjective self-report of memory function or on global
rating by spouses, friends, and relatives. These data suggest that when taken
following the manufacturer's instructions, this compound provides no measurable
benefit in cognitive function to elderly adults with intact cognitive function.
In
total, 14 different measures of cognition were evaluated in the present study.
Seven of the measures were better in the placebo group, and 7 of the measures
were better in the ginkgo group. None of the differences between the means of
the 2 groups were statistically significant. The 95% CIs were calculated for
each mean difference. Even if one assumes that the true difference between
treatments is the upper limit of the 95% CI, it would still be difficult to
argue that meaningful benefit was derived from taking ginkgo. For example, the
Logical Memory portion of the WMS-R measures the participants' ability to recall
2 paragraphs that they initially heard 30 minutes earlier. There are 25
possible discrete items in each paragraph that the participant could recall.
The upper limit of the 95% CI for the mean difference between ginkgo and
placebo was 0.20 items (ie, participants in the ginkgo group remembered less
than 1 item more than participants in the placebo group). Similarly, on the
CVLT, participants learn a 16-item shopping list over 5 trials. A perfect score
is 80. The upper limit of the 95% CI for the mean difference between ginkgo and
placebo was 1.01 items. It would be difficult to argue that either of these
differences are of any clinical significance, even if they are real. The
results of the Caregiver Global Impression of Change rating scale further
support the failure of ginkgo to provide clinically significant improvement in
memory. In general, caregivers did not rate changes in memory over the 6-week
trial any differently in participants randomized to ginkgo vs placebo
participants. Sixty-six percent of those randomized to placebo and 70% to
ginkgo were judged by caregivers as showing no change over 6 weeks.
Thirty-three percent of placebo and 28% of ginkgo participants were judged as
minimally improved, and 3 participants were judged to be much improved; 2 were
in the ginkgo group and 1 was in the placebo group (Table 3).
Ginkgo
has been evaluated in several double-blind studies that have reported
beneficial effects, but these effects were not broad or consistent. Wesnes et
al3 conducted a 3-month
double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study in 54 patients. Patients
were evaluated at weeks 4, 8, and 12. Patients receiving Tanakan (ginkgo
extract) performed better on only 2 of 8 tests of memory (P = .03) and attention
and concentration (P = .05) and in each case at only 1 evaluation point. There
was not a consistent effect for any outcome measure. Additionally, neither
physicians nor patients could distinguish between placebo and compound on an
overall scale. Rai et al2 compared 12
ginkgo-treated with 15 placebo-treated participants who were classified as
having mild to moderate memory impairment in a double-blind study and reported
significant differences in favor of the gingko group only on the Kendrick Digit
Copying task, but not on tests of learning or memory. Rigney et al17 evaluated 31 participants and 4 doses of
ginkgo in a crossover design. They only reported improvement with 1 dose of
ginkgo (120 mg), in only the oldest group of participants (50-59 years), and
only in 1 of the multiple tests of memory administered. Other studies that have
reported positive effects in favor of ginkgo have also either studied small
numbers of participants in uncontrolled studies,18,
19 have found benefit in
one of many cognitive tasks administered,20 or have found changes in objective tests relative to controls but
not in physician ratings in clinical populations.4,
5 Despite the
manufacturer's claims of improved memory in healthy adults, we were unable to
identify any well-controlled studies that document this claim.
Recently,
ginkgo was reported to be beneficial in a sample of patients with dementia.4 Mildly to severely demented patients
characterized as having either Alzheimer disease or multi-infarct dementia were
given either ginkgo (120 mg/d) or placebo for 52 weeks in a randomized
double-blind study. The intent-to-treat analysis on 202 patients indicated a
0.1-point decline on the Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale–Cognitive
portion (ADAS-Cog) in the ginkgo group compared with a 1.48-point decline in the
placebo group. No subjective differences were reported by either family members
or physicians. While provocative, these differences on the ADAS-Cog are
significantly smaller than those reported for approved cholinesterase
inhibitors in treating patients with Alzheimer disease.15 Moreover, the failure to find any
differences in either physician or family rating raises the issue of whether
the small difference on the ADAS-Cog is clinically significant.
Despite
the paucity of well-controlled studies, ginkgo continues to be marketed and
widely used.21, 22 Sales in the United States reached $240 million in 199723 and more than 5 million prescriptions
are written each year in Germany primarily for dementia, cerebral decline, and
peripheral arterial insufficiency.18
Our
study has limitations. It is certainly possible that higher doses or longer
periods of exposure than used in this study are necessary to detect changes;
however, we administered the compound following the manufacturer's
instructions. The manufacturer's label indicates that ginkgo should be
administered at a dose of 120 mg/d and that doses of greater than 120 mg show
no additional benefit.6 This is also the dose
suggested by the German Commission E.24 The daily dose in the present study was 120 mg/d. The label also
states that a noticeable benefit should be apparent after 4 weeks of usage. The
present study evaluated cognition after a 6-week interval. Moreover, there was
no indication of a statistical trend toward significance for any of the
compounds on any of the measures. Nevertheless, it is possible that longer
exposures could produce beneficial effects.
We
did not monitor adverse effects in the present study. Although ginkgo is
generally characterized as a benign compound,21 it is not without adverse effects. Reported adverse effects
include bleeding, mild gastrointestinal upset, and headache.25 None of the participants in the present
study discontinued treatment due to adverse effects and none spontaneously
reported any adverse effects. This finding is generally consistent with studies
that did systematically monitor adverse effects.4
The
issue of quality control has also been raised as a potential source of variance
in studies using over-the-counter compounds.26 One limitation of the present study is that we did not
analyze the content of the ginkgo used in this study. However, the manufacturer
claims that ginkgo "is processed under strict guidelines . . . ensured
through extensive quality control."6
We
recognize the possibility that ceiling effects may have contributed to the
nonsignificant findings in the present study. However, we selected tests that
are normalized for the age group that we studied and, as such, have an
appropriate range of scores. For example, in the Logical Memory WMS-R scale
(Logical Memory I), the potential range of scores is 0 to 50. The ginkgo
participants in the present study scored a mean of 20.49 (SD, 5.08) and the
placebo participants scored a mean of 23.61 (SD, 4.65). Each of these is well
below the maximum score of 50. In addition, none of the participants obtained a
maximum score on this scale or any of the other scales used in this study.
We
also recognize that the method of blinding in this study could have resulted in
unblinding for some participants. However, the finding that participants taking
ginkgo as well as those taking placebo reported in equal proportions taking the
active compound ginkgo (71% vs 75%) mitigates this concern.
In
summary, this study does not support the manufacturer's claims of the benefits
of gingko on learning and memory. Treatment over a 6-week period following the
manufacturer's dosing suggestions did not produce objective benefit on any of
14 standard neuropsychological tests, nor were any benefits detected in
self-report by the participants or observation by a family member or friend.
Author/Article
Information
Author
Affiliations: Department of Psychology (Dr Solomon and Ms Zimmer), Program in
Neuroscience (Dr Solomon and Mss Adams, Silver, and Zimmer), Department of
Mathematics and Statistics (Dr DeVeaux), Williams College, Williamstown, Mass;
and The Memory Clinic, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, Bennington (Dr
Solomon).
Corresponding
Author and Reprints: Paul R. Solomon, PhD, Bronfman Science Center, Williams College,
33 Hoxsey St, Williamstown, MA 01267 (e-mail: psolomon@williams.edu).
Author
Contributions: Study concept and design: Solomon, Silver.
Acquisition
of data:
Solomon, Adams, Silver, Zimmer.
Analysis
and interpretation of data: Solomon, DeVeaux.
Drafting
of the manuscript: Solomon.
Critical
revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: Solomon, Adams, Silver,
Zimmer, DeVeaux.
Statistical
expertise: Solomon, DeVeaux.
Obtained
funding:
Solomon.
Administrative,
technical, or material support: Adams, Silver, Zimmer.
Study
supervision: Solomon.
Funding/Support: This work was supported
by grants from the National Institute on Aging (AGO-5134-08S2), the Howard
Hughes Medical Foundation, and the Essel Foundation.
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