Many of the studies done on Ginkgo Biloba in regard to Alzheimer's disease showed that it had some ability to improve the cognitive performance and the social functioning of demented patients, at least at an early stage of the disease. At the same time, rats that were given gingko biloba lived longer then those that were not. In one study, the type of effects produced by ginkgo biloba in elderly dementia patients were similar to those induced by a class of drugs called Cholinesterase inhibitors - used to treat Alzheimer's disease - which includes rivastigmine, donepezil, and galantamine. Because of the potential to cause liver damage, tacrine - another cholinesterase inhibitor - is not much used any longer in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease... Full Text