Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36156538›Full record

ArticleThe American journal of case reports2022

Alleviation of Post-COVID-19 Cognitive Deficits by Treatment with EGb 761®: A Case Series.

Udo A Zifko, Muhammad Yacob, Benedikt J Braun, Gunnar P H Dietz

Open access · hybridAbstract readCase Reports
In one paragraph

Article in The American journal of case reports, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.4field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. [Herbal treatment options for post-viral symptoms and long COVID].Wiener medizinische Wochenschrift (1946) · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Neurological, psychological, psychosocial complications of long-COVID and their management.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025
    Review
  6. Anti-Neuroinflammatory Effects ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2024
    Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Udo A ZifkoDepartment of Neurology, Evangelical Hospital Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Muhammad YacobDepartment of Neurology, Evangelical Hospital Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Benedikt J BraunDepartment of Neurology, Evangelical Hospital Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Gunnar P H DietzDepartment of Neurology, University of Medicine Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
University of Göttingen · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND Cognitive symptoms persisting longer than 3 months after infection, such as memory loss, or difficulties concentrating, have been reported in up to one-third of patients after COVID-19. Evidence-based therapeutic interventions to treat post-COVID-19 symptoms (also called "Long-COVID symptoms") have not yet been established, and the treating physicians must rely on conjecture to help patients. Based on its mechanism of action and its efficacy in treating cognitive impairment, as well as its good tolerability, the Ginkgo biloba special extract EGb 761 has been suggested as a remedy to alleviate cognitive post-COVID-19 symptoms. In many studies, EGb 761 has been demonstrated to protect endothelial cells, to have potent anti-inflammatory effects, and to enhance neuroplasticity. CASE REPORT Here, we report for the first time the application of EGb 761 in the therapy of post-COVID-19-related cognitive deficits. Three women and 2 men, aged 26 to 59 years (average age 34.6 years), presented with concentration and attention deficits, cognitive deficiencies, and/or fatigue 9-35 weeks after infection. A daily dose of 2×80 mg of EGb 761 did not cause any detectable adverse effects, and it substantially improved or completely restored cognitive deficits and, when initially present, also other symptoms, such as fatigue and hyposmia, within an observation period of up to 6 months. CONCLUSIONS Our observations support the hypothesis that EGb 761 might be a low-risk treatment option for post-COVID-19 patients with cognitive symptoms. Moreover, we derive recommendations for randomized controlled clinical trials to confirm efficacy in that indication.

Indexed as

Cognitive DysfunctionCOVID-19AdultAnti-Inflammatory AgentsCognitionEndothelial CellsFatigueFemaleGinkgo bilobaGinkgo ExtractHumansMalePlant ExtractsPost-Acute COVID-19 SyndromeAnti-Inflammatory AgentsGinkgo biloba extractGinkgo ExtractPlant Extracts

Identifiers

PMID36156538
PMCPMC9523733
OpenAlexW4295885031

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.