Efficacy of rivastigmine in comparison to ginkgo for treating Alzheimer’s dementia

Objectives: To assess the efficacy of the Ginkgo biloba in patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type in slowing down the disease s degenerative progression and the patients cognitive impairment compared with rivastigmine. Methods: Total 56 patients aged 50-75 years, suffering from dementia, were allocated into one of the two treatments: group 1) Ginkgo biloba (120 mg daily dose); group 2) rivastigmine (4.5 mg daily dose) in a 24-week randomized double blind study. The degree of severity of dementia was assessed by the Seven Minute test and the Mini-Mental State Examination.Results: Our results confirm the clinical efficacy of rivastigmine in the dementia of the Alzheimer type, comparing to Ginkgo biloba. 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. Conclusion: Our study suggests that there are differences in the efficacy of Ginkgo biloba and rivastigmine in the treatment of Alzheimer s dementia. In addition, this study suggested that cholinesterase inhibitors should beused in preference to Ginkgo biloba in patients with mild to moderate AD.