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70/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 70 out of 100. Treatments

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Main results We included 82 studies with 10,613 participants; 72 studies with 9783 participants provided extractable data. Below we present data for the comparison of ginkgo versus placebo in people with different clinical conditions. A larger study lasting three months found that the risk of AEs may be higher with ginkgo versus placebo. Multiple sclerosis and cognitive impairment Two studies (164 participants) tested ginkgo versus placebo over three months in people with multiple sclerosis and cognitive problems. At six months, moderate-certainty evidence suggests that ginkgo probably has little to no effect on global clinical status measured on the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (MD -0.03, 95% CI -0.06 to 0.01; 3 studies, 631 participants; I² = 0%), cognition measured on the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale - cognition (MD -0.07, 95% CI -0.67 to 0.51; I² = 0%; 2 studies, 508 participants), and ADLs measured on the Instrumental ADL scale (MD -0.05, 95% CI -0.29 to 0.19; 1 study, 350 participants). At six months, low-certainty evidence suggests that people taking ginkgo may have better global clinical status on a six-point Likert scale (lower is better; MD -0.06, 95% CI -1.00 to -0.20; I² = 88%; 5 studies, 1359 participants), better cognition measured by decreases on a short cognitive performance test (Syndrom-Kurztest; MD -1.86, 95% CI -3.48 to -0.24; I² = 96%; 9 studies, 2801 participants), and slightly better ADLs measured on the ADL International Scale (MD -0.19, 95% CI -0.35 to -0.03; I² = 91%; 8 studies, 2571 participants). Authors' conclusions In people with cognitive complaints, we are unsure whether ginkgo improves global clinical status at six months, and it may be associated with an increased risk of AEs at three months.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Wieland, L. S., Ludeman, E., Chi, Y., Feinberg, T. M., Chen, I.-H., Chen, K.-H., et al. (2026). Ginkgo biloba for cognitive impairment and dementia. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD013661.pub2

Vancouver

Wieland LS, Ludeman E, Chi Y, Feinberg TM, Chen I.-H, Chen K.-H, et al. Ginkgo biloba for cognitive impairment and dementia. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews. 2026. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD013661.pub2. PMID: 41641880.

BibTeX

@article{wieland2026-41641880,
  author  = {Wieland, Lisa S and Ludeman, Emilie and Chi, Yuan and Feinberg, Termeh M and Chen, I-Hui and Chen, Kee-Hsin and Zhu, Yanan and Wolverson, Emma and others},
  title   = {{Ginkgo biloba for cognitive impairment and dementia}},
  journal = {The Cochrane database of systematic reviews},
  year    = {2026},
  doi     = {10.1002/14651858.CD013661.pub2},
  pmid    = {41641880},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD013661.pub2}
}

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Key findings

Main results We included 82 studies with 10,613 participants; 72 studies with 9783 participants provided extractable data.
Below we present data for the comparison of ginkgo versus placebo in people with different clinical conditions.
A larger study lasting three months found that the risk of AEs may be higher with ginkgo versus placebo.
Multiple sclerosis and cognitive impairment Two studies (164 participants) tested ginkgo versus placebo over three months in people with multiple sclerosis and cognitive problems.
At six months, moderate-certainty evidence suggests that ginkgo probably has little to no effect on global clinical status measured on the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (MD -0.03, 95% CI -0.06 to 0.01; 3 studies, 631 participants; I² = 0%), cognition measured on the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale - cognition (MD -0.07, 95% CI -0.67 to 0.51; I² = 0%; 2 studies, 508 participants), and ADLs measured on the Instrumental ADL scale (MD -0.05, 95% CI -0.29 to 0.19; 1 study, 350 participants).

Why it matters

Across 82 studies, ginkgo showed little to no effect on global clinical status, cognition, or daily activities in people with cognitive problems, based on moderate-certainty evidence. Some low-certainty results suggested possible benefit on certain scales, but a larger study also found that side effects may be more common with ginkgo than placebo.

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Study details

Study designmeta-analysis
Participants10,613
Effect sizeDementia, cognition at 6 months (Syndrom-Kurztest): MD -1.86 (95% CI -3.48 to -0.24; low certainty); MCI, CDR: MD -0.03 (95% CI -0.06 to 0.01; moderate certainty)
Evidence strengthModerate

Limitations

Most trials small and at unclear or high risk of bias; extreme heterogeneity (I2 88-96%) in the dementia analyses; outcomes measured mostly at six months.

How this study scored 70/100

Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a meta-analysis pooling many studies. We have no data on free to read, so that was left out: it earned 69 of the 98 points we could judge it on, which is 70 out of 100.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	9 / 10	Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (The Cochrane database of systematic reviews)
Journal's citation record	3 / 4	Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews: journal h-index 468 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	12 / 12	A meta-analysis pooling many studies
Strength of evidence	3 / 5	Rated “moderate” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	5 / 5	2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	4 / 4	10,613 participants
Effect reported	3 / 3	Effect reported with a statistic (interval, p-value, ratio or similar)
Studied in people	3 / 3	Studied in people (participant count stated)
Randomised / blinded	0 / 2	A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here
Times cited	1 / 7	Cited 3 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	1 / 5	1.5 citations a year over 2 year(s) since 2026
Impact for its field and year	5 / 6	Cited 29.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	0 / 6	No other study in this library cites it
Still being cited	1 / 4	Cited 3 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	2 / 4	Last-listed author Hakima Amri: h-index 27 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	Yale University: institution h-index 1,927 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	3 / 3	OpenAlex lists 11 institution(s) in 6 countries
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 41641880)
Free to read	— / 2	Access not recorded — left out of this score
Points	69 / 98	Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 69 of the 98 points we could judge it on is 70 out of 100.
Total	70 / 100	—

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Read the original

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