NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Elderly people with epilepsy who supplement their medication with the popular herb Ginkgo biloba in order to improve their memory may put themselves at risk of seizures, two case reports suggest.

``Ginkgo is an extremely widely used substance and it is clear that it does have side effects,'' study author Dr. Andrew S. Granger of Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth, Western Australia, told Reuters Health. ``(However,) the association with seizures is only postulated and unproven,'' he said.

Ginkgo biloba is purported to be helpful for a variety of conditions including memory loss and dementia, so elderly patients with dementia may often decide to take the supplement. In addition, epilepsy is more common among elderly individuals than among any other age group.

``We wish to draw attention to the possibility that seizures may be precipitated by Ginkgo biloba: this and other potential adverse effects should be highlighted on the packaging of the drug,'' Granger wrote in a recent issue of the journal Age and Ageing.

In the first case, a 78-year-old man who had been seizure-free for 18 months suddenly experienced three seizures within the 12-hour period before he sought medical attention. Upon investigation, Granger found that the patient had added Ginkgo biloba to his daily medication regimen 2 weeks before he was admitted to the hospital. The patient purchased the supplement over the counter to help him treat his mild brain impairment without telling his doctor.

The second case involved an 84-year-old woman with severe dementia who had not experienced a seizure in 2 years. Her psychiatrist had prescribed Ginkgo biloba 12 days before she arrived at the emergency department while having a seizure. The patient stopped taking the herb after she was admitted to the hospital, but she suffered three more seizures within the next 2 days.

In both cases, there was no evidence of an infection, stroke or any other possible cause for the seizures, other than the Ginkgo biloba, the report indicates. Further, both patients remained seizure-free for 8 and 4 months, respectively, after they stopped using the supplement.

In light of the findings, ``there needs to be more research into many of these 'health foods,' and the public needs to be aware that many of them can have side effects or interact with drugs they are on,'' Granger said. ``Most importantly, people need to be encouraged to discuss all such products with their doctors before they start taking them.''

SOURCE: Age and Ageing 2001;30:523-525.

Reference Source 89

For more information on how to prevent other diseases, use
PreventDisease.com's "Quick Prevention Resources".