Ginkgo tegen de gevolgen van een beroerte*
Uit een studie, weliswaar met muizen, blijkt dat het kruid Ginkgo de hersenen kan beschermen tegen de gevolgen van een mogelijke beroerte. De helft van de muizen kreeg een weeklang dagelijks ginkgo bij hun voeding en toen
werd bij alle muizen een belangrijke slagader in de hersenen geblokkeerd en zo een beroerte opgewekt. De muizen uit de ginkgo-groep hadden wel 50% minder hersenschade en vertoonden ook duidelijk minder verlammingsverschijnselen dan de muizen zonder de ginkgo. Dagelijks ginkgo zou dus belangrijk kunnen zijn voor mensen die een verhoogde kans op een beroerte hebben.
Ginkgo herb supplement could guard against stroke
The popular herbal supplement Ginkgo could protect the brain against the effects of a stroke, a new study shows.
Researchers found that Ginkgo supplements reduced the amount of damage caused in the brains of mice by 50 per cent.
The herb also appeared to reduce the amount of paralysis and limb weakness that the animals suffered.
Dr Sylvain Dore, from Johns Hopkins Institutions in Baltimore, who carried out the study, said: "Our results suggest that some element or elements in Ginkgo actually protect brain cells during stroke.
"If further work confirms what we've seen, we could theoretically recommend a daily regimen of Ginkgo to people at high risk of stroke as a preventive measure against brain damage."
The mice were given daily doses of the supplement for a week before the scientists induced strokes in the animals by blocking an key artery to the brain.
Tests were then carried out on the mice and another group who also had stroke induced.
The results showed that mice treated with Ginkgo had 50.9 per cent less neurological dysfunction than untreated mice.
The areas of their brains that became damaged were also almost 50 per cent smaller, the findings, published in the journal Stroke, show.
Dr Dore said: "It's still a large leap from rodent brains to human brains but these result strongly suggest that further research into the protective effects of Ginkgo is warranted."
Ginkgo is often taken by older people to improve their memory, and at least 100,000 people in Britain are thought to take it
regularly. (November
2008)
