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Over the weekend, I pulled out the June issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. As I flipped through the pages, I came across a feature article entitled, “The Life in There.” Based on her recently published book entitled Dancing with Rose, Lauren Kessler’s magazine article describes how she de...
hope ALL is well. question? i understand there is some new research on this miraculous herb ( with ginko biloba and siberian ginseng ) for restoring the firing and receptive dendrite cells in the cerebral cortext to enhance memory recall. could you investigate?
Hi, Eben,
I'm not familiar with this herbal medication that you mention and I want to note that I am not a medical doctor. I did look up studies via Google Scholar concerning the use of these herbs to improve memory. There is a 2002 article by Ernest entitled, The Risk-Benefit Profile of Commonly Used Herbal Therapies: Ginkgo, St. John's Wort, Ginsent, Echinacea, Saw Palmetto, and Kava, which reported that published evidence has found ginkgo "is of questionable use for memory loss for memory loss and tinnitus but has some effect on dementia...." Ernest also noted that "well-conducted clinical trials do not support the efficacy of ginseng to treat any condition."
However, a 2001 article entitled "Herbal-drug Therapy Interactions: "A Focus on Dementia" by Gold, Laxer, Dergal, Lancot, and Rochon warned that, "Older people with dementia are often prescribed numerous medications. Use of herbal therapies in addition to these conventional drug therapies may lead to interactions that result in an adverse drug event."
Based on this second finding, I'd encourage anyone who is being treated for dementia (whatever the age) should talk to their doctor before adding any herbal treatment to their daily regime.
Dorian