Fortschr Med Orig. 2001 Nov; 119(3-4): 135-8.

[A comparison of cholinesterase inhibitors and ginkgo extract in treatment of Alzheimer dementia]

Schreiter Gasser U, Gasser T.

Gerontopsychiatrisches Zentrum Hegibach, Zürich.

AIM: To compare the effectiveness of second-generation cholinesterase inhibitors (donepezil, rivastigmine, metrifonate) with that of the special ginkgo extract EGb 761R in Alzheimer's disease. METHOD: Analysis of the effect on cognition with the aid of the ADAS-cog.scale, placebo-adjusted, within six months; statistical evaluation of the effect using the confidence interval for the potential mean improvement. RESULTS: All medications are statistically significantly superior to placebo. The mean improvement is larger for the cholinesterase inhibitors than for the ginkgo extract. In the statistically unfavorable case, the effect of the cholinesterase inhibitors is still appreciable, but not for the ginkgo extract. CONCLUSION: Until the results of direct comparative studies are available, the present results indicate a superior effect of cholinesterase inhibitors over the ginkgo extract in the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.