Objective: To observe the effects of Ginkgo Biloba Tablet (GBT) in treating mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
Methods: Totally 113 MCI patients including 58 outpatients at the cognitive impairment clinics of Huadong Hospital, 34 outpatients at Chinese Medicine Clinics of Dongfang Hospital, and 21 outpatients at Feng-lin Community Health Service Center, were assigned to the control group (55 cases) and the treatment group (58 cases). Basic treatment was given to them all. Those in the treatment group took GBT additionally, 1 tablet each time, 3 times a day for 12 successive months. The mini-mental state examination (MMSE) integral, clock drawing task (CDT) integral, MMSE efficacy, CDT efficacy, and dementia conversion rate were detected before treatment, half a year after treatment, and one year after treatment.
Results: There was no significant difference in scores of MMSE and CDT integrals between the two groups before treatment (P>0.05). Compared with before treatment, each score in the treatment group remarkably increased in the treatment group at the 6 months and 12 months after treatment (P<0.01). They were higher than those of the control group at the same time points, showing statistical difference (P<0.01, P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the integrals of MMSE and CDT between the 6 months of treatment and the 12 months of treatment (P>0.05). The total effective rate of MMSE and CDT of the treatment group at the 6 months and 12 months after treatment (MMSE 67.24% and 65.52%; CDT 62.07% and 60.34%) all exceeded those of the control group at the same time points (MMSE 36.36% and 30.91%; CDT 34.55% and 30.91%), showing significant difference (P<0.01). There was no difference in the total effective rate of MMSE and CDT of the treatment group between the two time points (P>0.05). The dementia conversion rates at the 6 months and 12 months after treatment (1.72% and 5.17%) were lower in the treatment group than in the control group (9.09% and 14.55%), showing statistical difference (P<0.05).
Conclusions: One-year GBT could significantly improve the cognitive function of MCI patients. It could also lower the dementia conversion rate.