Ginkgo Biloba May Protect the Brain During Stroke

As many people know, extracts from ginkgo may help improve memory, alertness and blood circulation when taken regularly. However, in a recent study conducted by researchers at John’s Hopkins University in Baltimore and published in Stroke, a journal by the American Heart Association, ginkgo may also be beneficial in the event of a stroke. The researchers used two groups of mice for their study, giving one group the ginkgo supplement once daily for one week and giving the other group nothing. Researchers then brought on strokes in the mice in both groups and found that the group that was given the ginkgo extract supplement had about 50 percent less damage to their brain and more use of their limbs after the stroke than the other group. When a stroke occurs, there is a lack of blood supply to the brain, resulting in a loss of brain function, affecting movement, speech and vision, among other things. People that smoke or have high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes are at greater risk of having a stroke. People that are obese and those over age 55 also have a higher risk of stroke, so it is important to take control of the factors that can be changed in order to lower your risk.

The lead researcher in the study, Dr. Sylvain Dore, believes that the ginkgo extracts helped to protect the brain cells while the stroke was occurring, reducing the level of neurological damage the person will sustain. Still, more tests need to be done on the benefits ginkgo provides for human stroke victims, but researchers are hopeful that those tests and trials will be just as successful as the ones involving mice. Before human trials can begin, researchers still need to figure out at what point during a stroke ginkgo should be given, what dosage would protect the brain cells the most and in what form the supplement should be administered. Strokes require immediate treatment by a doctor or hospital. If you or a loved one has experienced a delay in treatment of a stroke, please contact the medical malpractice attorneys at Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, serving clients in Nassau and Suffolk County, Brooklyn, Bronx and Queens. Our firm also serves clients located in Staten Island and Westchester County.

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