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• Ginkgo

Dosage In Europe, Ginkgo extract is administered clinically at the total daily dosage of 120-240 mg of a standardized extract containing at least 24% Ginkgo flavone glycosides and 6% terpene lactones (ginkgolides and bilobalides) for a period of at least 8 weeks (Chang and Chang, 1997). References & Monograph Copyright 2000 Institute for Natural Products Research - www.naturalproducts.org ___________________________________________________________ 1: Phytomedicine. 2004 Sep;11(6):469. Links Ginkgo biloba in Down Syndrome. * Donfrancesco R, * Dell'uomo A. Department of Child Neuropsychiatry, La Scarpetta Hospital, via Valtellina 100, 00151 Roma, Italy. lascarpetta@libero.it PMID: 15500256 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] GET THIS RESEARCH?

Proof of efficacy of the Ginkgo biloba special extract EGb 761 in outpatients suffering from mild to moderate primary degenerative dementia of the Alzheimer type or multi- infarct dementia (Reprinted f rom Pharmacopsychiat, vol 29, pg 47-56, 1996).
Kanowski S Herrmann WM Stephan K Wierich W Horr R
Phytomedicine 1997 MAR;4(1):3-13
Kanowski S, Free Univ Berlin, Klinikum Benjamin Franklin, ABT Gerontopsychiat, Dept Gerontopsychiat, D 14050 Berlin, GERMANY

The efficacy of the Ginkgo biloba special extract EGb 761 in outpatients with presenile and senile primary degenerative dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) and multi-infarct dementia (MID) according to DSM III-R was investigated in a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center study After a 4-week run- in period, 216 patients were included in the randomized 24- week treatment period. These received either a daily oral dose of 240 mg EGb 761 or placebo. In accordance with the recommended multi-dimensional evaluation approach, three primary variables were chosen: the Clinical Global Impressions (CGI Item 2) for psychopathological assessment, the Syndrom-Kurztest (SKT)(1) for the assessment of the patient's attention and memory, and the Nurnberger Alters-Beobachtungsskala (NAB)(2) for behavioral assessment of activities of daily life. Clinical efficacy was assessed by means of a responder analysis, with therapy response being defined as response in at least two of the three primary variables. The data from the 156 patients who completed the study in accordance with the study protocol were taken into account in the confirmatory analysis of valid cases. The frequency of therapy responders in the two treatment groups differed significantly in favor of EGb 761, with p 0.005 in Fisher's Exact Test. The intent-to-treat analysis of 205 patients led to similar efficacy results. Thus, the clinical efficacy of the ginkgo biloba special extract EGb 761 in dementia of the Alzheimer type and multi-infarct dementia was confirmed. The investigational drug was found to be well tolerated.

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120 and 240 milligrams of G. biloba extract per day for 3 to 6 months registered a 3% increase in Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subtest scores compared with those taking placebo.

Arch Neurol November, 1998;55:1409-1415.

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: Curr Pharm Des. 2004;10(3):261-4.

Review about Ginkgo biloba special extract EGb 761 (Ginkgo).

• Gertz HJ,
• Kiefer M.

University of Leipzig, Department of Psychiatry, Liebigstr 22, D 04103 Leipzig, Germany. gertzh@medizin.uni-leipzig.de

Ginkgo biloba extracts (EGb) are well-defined plant extracts. It has several indications as dementia, macula degeneration, tinnitus and winter depression. A review of the current and past literature about older people with Alzheimer's dementia or vascular dementia or age-associated memory impairment treated with Ginkgo biloba extract, reveals that EGb has reproducible effects on cognitive functions in Alzheimer's disease. The drug is well tolerated.

PMID: 14754386 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Eur J Neurol. 2006 Sep;13(9):981-5.  Links

Ginkgo biloba and donepezil: a comparison in the treatment of Alzheimer's dementia in a randomized placebo-controlled double-blind study.

• Mazza M,
• Capuano A,
• Bria P,
• Mazza S.

Department of Psychiatry, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy. mariannamazza@hotmail.com

The Ginkgo biloba special extract EGb 761 seems to produce neuroprotective effects in neurodegenerative diseases of multifactorial origin. There is still debate about the efficacy of Ginkgo biloba special extract EGb 761 compared with second-generation cholinesterase inhibitors in the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer's dementia. Our aim is to assess the efficacy of the Ginkgo biloba special extract E.S. in patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type in slowing down the disease's degenerative progression and the patients' cognitive impairment compared with donepezil and placebo. The trial was designed as a 24-week randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study. Patients aged 50-80 years, suffering from mild to moderate dementia, were allocated into one of the three treatments: Ginkgo biloba (160 mg daily dose), donepezil (5 mg daily dose), or placebo group. The degree of severity of dementia was assessed by the Syndrom Kurz test and the Mini-Mental State Examination. Clinical Global Impression score was recorded to assess the change in the patients' conditions and the therapeutic efficacy of tested medications. Our results confirm the clinical efficacy of Ginkgo biloba E.S. (Flavogin) in the dementia of the Alzheimer type, comparable with donepezil clinical efficacy. There are few published trials that have directly compared a cholinesterase inhibitor with Ginkgo for dementia. This study directly compares a cholinesterase inhibitor with Ginkgo biloba for dementia of the Alzheimer type and could be a valid contribution in this debate. Our study suggests that there is no evidence of relevant differences in the efficacy of EGb 761 and donepezil in the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer's dementia, so the use of both substances can be justified. In addition, this study contributes to establish the efficacy and tolerability of the Ginkgo biloba special extract E.S. in the dementia of the Alzheimer type with special respect to moderately severe stages.

PMID: 16930364 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Neuro-pathologist Suzanne de la Montes believes Alzheimer's is actually a form of diabetes.

UNDATED (WJRT) - (05/01/07)-- It's been 101 years since Alzheimer's was first discovered by a German scientist, but we still don't know what causes it.

Symptoms and Stages of Alzheimer's Disease Ninnja2

Mild Alzheimer's Disease

People with mild symptoms of Alzheimer's disease often seem healthy, but they are actually having trouble making sense of the world around them. It often takes time for an observer to realize that something is wrong because the initial symptoms are often confused with changes that take place in normal aging. Symptoms and early signs of Alzheimer's disease may include:

Difficulty learning and remembering new information
Difficulty managing finances, planning meals, taking medication on schedule
Depression symptoms (sadness, decreased interest in usual activities, loss of energy)
Still able to do most activities such as driving a car
Gets lost going to familiar places

Moderate Alzheimer's Disease

In moderate Alzheimer's disease, the damaging processes occurring in the brain worsen and spread to other areas that control language, reasoning, sensory processing, and thought. In this stage, symptoms and signs of Alzheimer's disease become more pronounced and behavioral problems may become more obvious. Signs and symptoms of moderate Alzheimer's disease may include:

• Forgetting old facts
  • Continually repeats stories and/or asks the same questions over and over
  • Makes up stories to fill gaps
• Difficulty performing tasks
  • Following written notes
  • Using the shower and toilet
• Agitation, behavioral symptoms common
  • Restlessness, repetitive movements
  • Wandering
  • Paranoia, delusions, hallucinations
• Deficits in intellect and reasoning
• Lack of concern for appearance, hygiene, and sleep become more noticeable

Severe Alzheimer's Disease

In the advanced stage of Alzheimer's disease, damage to the brain's nerve cells is widespread. At this point, full–time care is typically required. For friends, family, and Alzheimer's caregivers, this can be the most difficult stage. People with severe Alzheimer's disease may have difficulty walking, and they often suffer complications from other illnesses, such as pneumonia. Signs of severe Alzheimer's disease may include:

• May groan, scream, mumble, or speak gibberish
• Behavioral symptoms common
  • Refuses to eat
  • Inappropriately cries out
• Failure to recognize family or faces
• Difficulty with all essential activities of daily living

Is America Falling Off the Flat Earth?
Norman R. Augustine, Chair, Rising Above the
Gathering Storm Committee, National Academy of
Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and
Institute of Medicine of the National Academies

Chapter - Distance is Dead p9, p10

ISBN: 0-309-11224-9, 92 pages, 7 x 10, (2007)
This free PDF was downloaded from:
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12021.html

(underline, bolding & color mine)

Many examples of the death of distance are already to be found in our daily lives:
• If a consumer places a telephone call to a service department to resolve a problem
with a computer, bank account, golf reservation, or lost airline bag, there is
a nontrivial likelihood that the consumer will speak with a person in Bangalore,
Jamaica, or some other such place. One international call center is now being
operated by the prisoners in Rome’s Rebibbia Prison. In India, courses are offered
to teach students to speak with a midwestern accent to prepare them better for
jobs in call centers.
• In Washington, DC, visitors to an office building not far from the White House
are greeted by a pleasant woman whose image appears on a flat-screen display
in the lobby where she handles appointments, access, and other administrative
matters. But she is not in Washington, DC—she is in Pakistan. At some time in
the foreseeable future, when the impact of ever-advancing 3-D television research
becomes “reality,” there will be little apparent difference between being greeted
by a virtual receptionist on another continent and by a real receptionist a few
feet away.
• Much of the commercial software now prevalent in the United States is constructed
in India, where at the end of each day teams of workers transmit the results of
their efforts to American integrators and testers who are just beginning their day,
and the product of their efforts is transmitted back to India in time for the start of
the next day’s work, thereby doubling the pace and cutting the cost with which
software can be produced.
• Many Americans’ income tax returns prepared by major accounting firms are
processed in India.
• US architectural firms are having drawings produced in Argentina.
• J.P. Morgan conducts a significant part of its derivatives operations in Mumbai.
• Nearly one in 20 Americans now works for a foreign-owned company.
• The CAT scans of patients in a number of US hospitals are routinely read by radiologists
in Australia or Bangalore.
• When I spoke via teleconference with groups from Harvey Mudd College and
Harvard University about the impact of an emerging China on global competitiveness,
the first question asked of me came from—where else?—China, from a
student listening in the middle of the night via webcast.
• Recently suffering a GPS failure while seeking to locate a package-delivery firm’s
warehouse in the Washington, DC, area, I called the firm’s “800” number on
a cell phone and was given real-time driving instructions by the help service:
“Turn right at the traffic light by the Exxon station,” and so on. The speaker was in
India.
• Americans are increasingly obtaining their health care overseas, where (according
to The Washington Post) dentists, for example, “charge one-fifth to one-fourth
of US prices.”
• In 2001, a patient in Strasbourg, France, had his gallbladder removed by a surgeon
in New York who was using a remotely controlled robot. (As an engineer, I
hope there was a backup surgeon in the room!)