Daily Dose Of Ginkgo May Prevent Brain Cell Damage After Stroke
Easy Health Options Staff | Feb 21, 2012 | Comments 2
Laboratory tests at Johns Hopkins show that daily doses of standardized extract from the leaves of the ginkgo tree can prevent or reduce brain damage after a stroke.Roughly 700,000 people experience a stroke in the United States every year. Of those, 87 percent have an ischemic stroke, which is caused by a blocked artery in the brain. Some brain damage occurs simply from blood not getting to brain cells. However, it is known that an increase in the presence of free radicals at the site of an ischemic stroke — once the clot is cleared and the blood supply returns — is also a major cause of resulting brain cell damage.
“…If further work confirms what we’ve seen, we could theoretically recommend a daily regimen of ginkgo to people at high risk of stroke as a preventive measure against brain damage,” says lead researcher Sylvain Doré, Ph.D. “Our results suggest that some element or elements in ginkgo actually protect brain cells during stroke.”
The scientists’ observations indicate that the antioxidants in ginkgo protect brain cells. “Ginkgo has long been touted for its positive effects on the brain and is even prescribed in Europe and Asia for memory loss,” says Doré. “Now we have a possible understanding for how ginkgo actually works to protect neurons from damage.”
http://www.easyhealthoptions.com/alternative-medicine/daily-dose-of-ginkgo-may-prevent-brain-cell-damage-after-stroke/
