HONOLULU – Ginkgo biloba and simvastatin were not helpful in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in separate randomized, placebo-controlled trials.
Treatment with ginkgo at 120 mg twice a day for 12 weeks produced no significant, short-term improvements in cognitive function in a study of 121 patients. The addition of simvastatin (Zocor) to interferon therapy for multiple sclerosis in a separate study did not significantly reduce the annualized relapse rate after 1-3 years, investigators reported at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.
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 Photo credit: Zlatko Ivancok/Fotolia.com Ginkgo biloba produced no significant, short-term improvements in cognitive function in patients with multiple sclerosis.
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A previous survey of patients with multiple sclerosis in Oregon found that 20% were using ginkgo, which contains antioxidants and platelet activator factor antagonists. A pilot trial conducted in 2009 by Dr. Jesus Lovera and associates suggested that these properties had a beneficial effect on attention and executive function as measured by the Stroop Color Word Test in patients with multiple sclerosis.
However, in the current trial of patients with multiple sclerosis in Portland, Ore., and Seattle, both the ginkgo and placebo groups improved average scores on a battery of neuropsychological tests.
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