SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Dementia and Neurodegenerative Diseases
Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761 in patients with dementia and a history of cerebral infarction – meta-analysis of pooled data from randomised clinical trials
Provisionally accepted
- 1China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, Beijing, China
- 2Beijing Tiantan Hospital Department of Neurology, Beijing, China
- 3Beijing Tiantan Hospital Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing, China
- 4Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Clinical Trial, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
- 5Dr. Willmar Schwabe GmbH & Co. KG, Karlsruhe, Germany
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Introduction: Ginkgo biloba leaf extracts belong to the most popular herbal medicines for the treatment of neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease (AD) or stroke. EGb 761, a proprietary ginkgo leaf extract, has been shown to improve brain cell energy supply, to enhance neurogenesis and neuroplasticity, to decrease blood viscosity and improve brain perfusion. Thereby it improves cognitive performance, neuropsychiatric symptoms and activities of daily living in patients with dementia or mild cognitive impairment. It has further been shown to be beneficial for patients after ischaemic stroke. Therefore, the aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the treatment effects of EGb 761 in patients who had developed dementia following a cerebral infarction. Methods: We performed a meta-analysis of pooled data from clinical trials with EGb 761 in mild to moderate dementia in the subgroup of patients who had a cerebral infarction. Four randomised, placebo-controlled trials with homogeneous patient selection and design were included. Previous stroke was diagnosed by neuroimaging. The analysis focused on the comparison of treatment effects in the domains of cognition, activities of daily living and global assessment. Results: The meta-analysis included data from 488 patients. Significant treatment effects of 240 mg EGb 761 daily versus placebo were found for cognition (p = 0.0467), activities of daily living (p = 0.0230), and global clinical impression (p = 0.0371). The rates of adverse events and adverse drug reactions in the EGb 761 group were like those in the placebo group. Conclusion: The results of our meta-analysis of patients with mild to moderate dementia who had previously had a cerebral infarction verified by neuroimaging showed statistically significant and clinically relevant benefits of EGb 761. The drug was shown to be safe and well tolerated and is a promising treatment option for patients developing dementia after cerebral infarction. Further dedicated clinical trials are needed to confirm these results.
Keywords: Ginkgo biloba leaf extract, EGb 761, Dementia, Cognition, Stroke, cerebrovascular, Pooled data analysis, clinical trials
Received: 02 Jul 2025; Accepted: 21 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Feng, Zheng, Tian, Zimmermann, Wang and Meng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
An-xin Wang, wanganxin@bjtth.org
Xia Meng, mengxia@ncrcnd.org.cn
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.