Chinese herbs for stroke patients suffering from dementia

Researchers at the Institute of Geriatrics, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine tested a herbal medicine, an extract from an orchid and six other plants, in a 3-month comparison study of 120 stroke patients. The remedy, known as gastrodine compound granule, is the first herbal drug for dementia to be tested in clinical trials at hospitals in China. It was found to significantly increase mental function in patients suffering from mild to moderate vascular dementia after a stroke compared with Duxila, which is normally used to treat stroke in China. There were fewer side-effects in the group taking the Chinese medicine, the doctors reported at a meeting of the American Heart Association’s Second Asia Pacific Forum.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2979490.stm (11 June 2003)