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Delda White wrote: > Gil: I would love to see a pooling of info about the use of supplements with > PD. I don't have any information on use of gingko by PWP. However, a recent article on gingko and dementia in the respected Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter states:"...Researchers reporting in the J of the Amer. Medical Assn. looked at 202 men and women with mild to moderately severe dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease or stroke. For one year, they gave them either 120 mg of ginkgo each day or a placebo. Of those taking ginkgo, 50 percent showed improvements in cognitive performance (memory, learning, reading) compared with 29 percent receiving placebo. And 37 percent of those in the ginkgo group had better social functioning (carrying on a conversation, recognizing familiar faces, handling money), as opposed to 23 percent taking the placebo. Investigators....theorize it may have something to do with the herb's antioxidant properties. .....it's premature to consider ginkgo as a treatment for those with Alzheimer's disease or other conditions that cause dementia." In the same issue, Dr. Varro Tyler, professor emeritus at Purdue Univ. School of Pharmacy, says (in part) that gingko appears to be safe at 40 mg 3 times per day; and that if you don't see any improvement within a month you're probably not going to see any at all. However, as gingko acts as a blood thinner, it should not be used by people taking other blood thinning agents, such as aspirin, vitamin E, garlic, ginger, the prescription drug warfarin (Coumadin), and any other medications that list thinning of the blood as a potential side effect -- such a combination could put the person at risk for excessive bleeding, or hemorrhagic stroke. Tufts has an excellent website, also: http://navigator.tufts.edu/ I can recommend the book "The Honest Herbal" by Varro Tyler, Ph.D. as a source of reliable information. Best regards, Kathrynne -- Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD "Nutrition you can live with!" Medical nutrition therapy Tel: 970-493-6532 // Fax: 970-493-6538