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More Evidence Ginkgo Doesn't Prevent Alzheimer's

946 views · Published 6 September 2012 · 1:14 · Indexed 27 September 2026

Channel: Slate · 2012 · Science & Technology

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More disappointing Alzheimer's news. Naturally. A study published in the Lancet Neurology journal has found the herbal treatment ginkgo biloba to be utterly ineffective in preventing the memory-robbing, fatal affliction that currently affects 18-million people worldwide. 

The Chinese herb long thought to aid mental clarity has recently been touted as a possible cure for Alzheimer's. But the French research team who conducted a five-year comparative test between Ginkgo biloba and a placebo on nearly 3,000 elderly people with memory concerns found only a 1 percent difference of Alzheimer's occurrence in the two groups, a statistically insignificant number. 

With the number of Alzheimer's cases expected to quadruple by midcentury and roughly 80 percent of people worldwide turning to herbal treatments, the study is clearly a setback for those who believe in a natural approach to physical and mental health.

Here's hoping Big Pharma will have better luck than Mother Nature.

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