Ginkgo diterpene lactone meglumine improves acute ischaemic stroke outcomes

Treatment with ginkgo diterpene lactone meglumine (GDLM) leads to favourable functional outcomes in individuals who sustained acute ischaemic stroke (AIS), as shown in a study.

The study included 3,448 adults (median age 63 years, 35.7 percent women) with an AIS symptom within 48 hours of onset, had a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 0 or 1 prior to onset, and had a National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score ranging from 4 to 24.

These participants were randomly assigned to receive GDLM (n=1,725) or placebo (n=1,723) once daily via intravenous infusion. Treatment was administered within 48 hours after symptoms and continued for 14 days. None of the patients were allowed to undergo interventions of thrombolysis and thrombectomy.

The proportion of patients with an mRS of 0 or 1 on day 90, the primary study outcome, was significantly greater in the GDLM group than in the placebo group (50.8 percent vs 44.1 percent; risk difference, 6.79 percent, 95 percent CI, 3.46–10.10; odds ratio [OR], 1.31, 95 percent CI, 1.15–1.50; relative risk, 1.15, 95 percent CI, 1.08–1.24; p<0.001).

Meanwhile, the frequency of adverse events did not significantly differ between the GDLM and placebo groups (7.6 percent vs 17. percent; risk difference, 0.27 percent, 95 percent CI, −2.26 to 2.80; OR, 1.02, 95 percent CI, 0.85–1.21; RR, 1.02, 95 percent CI, 0.88–1.17; p=0.83).