Gingko no help on dementia

A large study of more than 3,000 people using a standardized gingko extract shows it offers no help in slowing or arresting the progress of Alzheimer's or other dementia.

Here's the money quote, from Dr. Steven DeKosky of the University of Virginia, a neurologist who led the clinical trial:

"We did show it was fairly safe -- that is of some reassurance," said DeKosky, dean of the University of Virginia Medical School. The only harm that could come from taking ginkgo, he said, is "spending money on something that may not be useful."

When people ask what's the harm in alt medicine, well, there's an example right there.

If you know you have a fatal medical condition, rather than pounding money down an alt-med rathole, you could spend it on things you like.