(HealthScoutNews) -- The multitude of people who use ginkgo biloba to sharpen their memory may be onto something.

A new pilot study from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine found the herbal supplement improved memory and concentration in people with multiple sclerosis (MS).

"The patients on the ginkgo showed statistically significant improvement [on some cognitive tests], compared to placebo groups," says study author Dr. Jody Corey-Bloom, a professor of neurosciences at the university.

However, she cautions these are only preliminary results from a small group of people, and she suggests people reserve judgment until larger trials can be conducted.

Corey-Bloom presented her findings today at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting in Denver.

MS is a disease of the central nervous system that affects about 350,000 Americans, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The disease destroys myelin, a substance that protects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms vary, but can include muscle weakness, fatigue, pain, loss of feeling or a pins-and-needles sensation. About half the people with MS experience cognitive problems, such as difficulty concentrating, memory loss or poor judgment, Corey-Bloom says.

Although previous studies have shown ginkgo slows mental decline in Alzheimer's patients, no research on the herbal supplement had targeted patients with MS, the scientists say.

Twenty-one people with MS volunteered for the study. Some of them started with a placebo for three months, and then took ginkgo for three months. The other group took the supplement for the entire six months.

Those on ginkgo took 240 milligrams daily, which Corey-Bloom says is probably a larger dose than most people take because the pills commonly come in 60-milligram tablets. None of the people reported any side effects.

At the start of the study, at three months and again at the end of the study, the volunteers underwent a battery of cognitive tests to assess their memory, attention and judgment skills, as well as tests to measure their psychological status.

At the end of the study, the researchers noticed improvements in attention and memory for patients on ginkgo. However, "these changes weren't across the board," says Corey-Bloom, and only some aspects of memory and attention were improved.

New York University neurologist Dr. Keith Siller urges caution when looking at the results because the study size was so small. "It probably can't hurt, but there's really no proof that it does anything," he says.

"This is a group of people that is really hopeful for anything," Siller says. "We don't want to encourage them to take something that isn't proven to work; it can feed into despair."

What to Do

For more information on multiple sclerosis, go to the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

To learn more about the effect of ginkgo biloba, read this information from Ohio State University.

Reference Source 101

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