Condition

Vascular Cognitive Impairment

Vascular cognitive impairment is a decline in thinking skills caused by poor blood supply to the brain, from strokes, small vessel disease, or long-term reduced blood flow, and it can progress to vascular dementia. Ginkgo biloba and citicoline have the most attention for it, and in one small pilot study of 80 people, blood flow in the brain went up with ginkgo. That is limited evidence from a single short study, and it measured blood flow rather than memory or daily thinking, so it says little yet about whether people thought more clearly.

Sources: PMID 21061003

Supplements studied: 1
Graded outcomes: 1
Trials: 1
People studied: 80

Evidence by supplement

Strong
Moderate
Limited
Very limited

1 supplement

Ginkgo Biloba

Ginkgo Biloba: outcomes studied for Vascular Cognitive Impairment
Grade	Outcome	Effect	Size	Studies	People
	Cerebral Blood Flow Small Increase	Improves (the measure goes up)	Small effect	1 study	80 people
Studies that measured cerebral blood flow Effects of Ginkgo biloba on cerebral blood flow assessed by quantitative MR perfusion imaging: a pilot studyNeuroradiology · PMID 21061003
	Cognitive Decline	Improves (the measure goes down)		9 studies	80 people
Studies that measured cognitive decline Efficacy and tolerability of a once daily formulation of Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761® in Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia: results from a randomised controlled trialPharmacopsychiatry · PMID 22086747 Ginkgo biloba special extract in dementia with neuropsychiatric features. A randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trialArzneimittelforschung · PMID 17341003 Proof of efficacy of the ginkgo biloba special extract EGb 761 in outpatients suffering from mild to moderate primary degenerative dementia of the Alzheimer type or multi-infarct dementiaPharmacopsychiatry · PMID 8741021 and 6 more on the Ginkgo Biloba page
	Memory	Improves (the measure goes up)		3 studies	80 people
Studies that measured memory Acute cognitive effects of standardised Ginkgo biloba extract complexed with phosphatidylserineHum Psychopharmacol · PMID 17457961 A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial of Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761 in a sample of cognitively intact older adults: neuropsychological findingsHum Psychopharmacol · PMID 12404671 Safety and effectiveness of a traditional ginkgo fresh plant extract - results from a clinical trialForsch Komplementmed · PMID 19657199

Key findings

Cerebral Blood FlowGinkgo BilobaImproves (the measure goes up)

The Vascular Cognitive Impairment & Vascular Dementia Support protocol

2 primary supplements · 7 supporting supplements

Ginkgo Biloba240 mg EGb 761 standardized extract daily
Citicoline (CDP-Choline)1,000–2,000 mg daily

See the full protocol

Shop the evidence-backed picks

Support alongside medical care. These supplements are not a treatment for Vascular Cognitive Impairment. If you are being treated for it, talk to your clinician before adding one: supplements can interact with medicines.

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Studies cited

13 studies from PubMed

Safety and effectiveness of a traditional ginkgo fresh plant extract - results from a clinical trialForsch Komplementmed · PMID 19657199
Ginkgo biloba for preventing cognitive decline in older adults: a randomized trialJAMA · PMID 20040554
Treatment of age-related memory complaints with Ginkgo biloba extract: a randomized double blind placebo-controlled studyPhytomedicine · PMID 23196025
Long-term use of standardised Ginkgo biloba extract for the prevention of Alzheimer's disease (GuidAge): a randomised placebo-controlled trialLancet Neurol · PMID 22959217
A placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized trial of an extract of Ginkgo biloba for dementia. North American EGb Study Group.JAMA · PMID 9343463
Effect of Western medicine therapy assisted by Ginkgo biloba tablet on vascular cognitive impairment of none dementiaAsian Pac J Trop Med · PMID 22840457
Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761® in dementia with neuropsychiatric features: a randomised, placebo-controlled trial to confirm the efficacy and safety of a daily dose of 240 mgJ Psychiatr Res · PMID 22459264
Proof of efficacy of the ginkgo biloba special extract EGb 761 in outpatients suffering from mild to moderate primary degenerative dementia of the Alzheimer type or multi-infarct dementiaPharmacopsychiatry · PMID 8741021
Ginkgo biloba special extract in dementia with neuropsychiatric features. A randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trialArzneimittelforschung · PMID 17341003
Effects of Ginkgo biloba on cerebral blood flow assessed by quantitative MR perfusion imaging: a pilot studyNeuroradiology · PMID 21061003
Efficacy and tolerability of a once daily formulation of Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761® in Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia: results from a randomised controlled trialPharmacopsychiatry · PMID 22086747
A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial of Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761 in a sample of cognitively intact older adults: neuropsychological findingsHum Psychopharmacol · PMID 12404671
Acute cognitive effects of standardised Ginkgo biloba extract complexed with phosphatidylserineHum Psychopharmacol · PMID 17457961