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Ginkgo biloba in Alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review

Ginkgo biloba bei Alzheimer Demenz: eine systematische Übersicht

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An Erratum to this article was published on 01 February 2011

Zusammenfassung

Diese systematische Übersicht untersucht den Nutzen von Ginkgo biloba (Ginkgo) bei Alzheimer Demenz hinsichtlich patientenrelevanter Endpunkte. Dazu wurden elektronische Datenbanken und Studienregister nach randomisiert kontrollierten Studien durchsucht, die einen Vergleich von Ginkgo und Plazebo oder einer anderen Therapieoption untersuchten. Hersteller wurden um unveröffentlichte Daten gebeten. Die Ergebnisse sollten in einer Meta-Analyse zusammengefasst werden. 6 Studien waren relevant; insgesamt zeigte sich eine hohe Heterogenität in den meisten Endpunkten, mit Ausnahme der Ergebnisse zu unerwünschten Arzneimittelwirkungen. Bei Betrachtung der Studien mit einer hohen Dosierung von Ginkgo waren die Ergebnisse nach wie vor heterogen, allerdings zeigten hier alle Effekte einen Vorteil von Ginkgo. In dieser Gruppe zeigte sich für das Therapieziel "Aktivitäten des täglichen Lebens" ein Beleg; für "Kognition" und "begleitende Psychopathologie" ein Hinweis auf einen Nutzen. Ein Schaden durch Ginkgo war nicht erkennbar. Eine Abschätzung der Effektgröße für die Endpunkte war nicht möglich. Weitere Studien, insbesondere für Subgruppen der Alzheimer Demenz, sind notwendig.

Summary

This systematic review determines the benefit of treatment with Ginkgo biloba (Ginkgo) in Alzheimer's disease (AD) concerning patient-relevant outcomes. Bibliographic databases, clinical trial and study result registries were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in patients with AD (follow-up ≥16 weeks) comparing Ginkgo to placebo or a different treatment option. Manufacturers were asked to provide unpublished data. If feasible, data were pooled by meta-analysis. Six studies were eligible; overall, high heterogeneity was shown for most outcomes, except safety aspects. Among studies administering high-dose Ginkgo (240 mg), all studies favour treatment though effects remain heterogeneous. In this subgroup, a benefit of Ginkgo exists for activities of daily living. Cognition and accompanying psychopathological symptoms show an indication of a benefit. A harm of Ginkgo is not evident. An estimation of the effect size was not possible for any outcome. Further evidence is needed which focuses especially on subgroups of AD patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG), Cologne, Germany

    Inger M. Janßen, Sibylle Sturtz & Guido Skipka

  2. Department of Health Care Management, Berlin University of Technology, Berlin, Germany

    Annette Zentner, Marcial V. Garrido & Reinhard Busse

Authors
  1. Inger M. Janßen
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  2. Sibylle Sturtz
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  3. Guido Skipka
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  4. Annette Zentner
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  5. Marcial V. Garrido
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  6. Reinhard Busse
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Correspondence to Inger M. Janßen.

Additional information

An erratum to this article can be found online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10354-011-0873-y.

An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10354-011-0873-y.

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Janßen, I., Sturtz, S., Skipka, G. et al. Ginkgo biloba in Alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review. Wien Med Wochenschr 160, 539–546 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10354-010-0844-8

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