PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. – Could a natural supplement help speed up brain recovery in the initial few weeks after a stroke?
Dr. Brijesh Mehta, Medical Director of the Comprehensive Stroke Program and Neurointerventional Surgery with Memorial Healthcare, said the findings of a study done in China are the first ever to use a version of the supplement in post stroke patients.
“This was performed in 10 hospitals in China and it comprised of hundreds of patients and it two arms, in one arm, patients who had suffered a stroke, within two weeks they were administered intravenous or IV injections of ginkgo biloba and in the other arm is what we call the control arm which is the current best medical treatment without any administration of ginkgo biloba and what they found is folks who had received the IV injections they did statistically better, in terms of their cognitive improvement, after a stroke,” Mehta said.
While promising, Mehta noted that there is no indication that oral supplementation with gingko biloba would be beneficial and in fact the FDA has not sanctioned it for any medical application.
NEWLY APPROVED PRODUCT FOR SEBORRHEIC DERMATITIS
There’s a new treatment option for the more than 10 million Americans suffering from seborrheic dermatitis, a chronic inflammatory skin condition.
The FDA recently approved a topical foam called Zoryve which experts say may be easier for many patients to use and tolerate.
“It’s a PD-4 inhibitor so it’s a novel mechanism of action to work like a topical steroid but without the risk of chronic steroid use so we’re not seeing the risk of skin atrophy, itelangiectasia, immunosuppression. So, you’re able to use it anywhere on the body for a longer period of time without some of the risks we see with those traditional therapies,” Fromowitz said.
The product is sold by prescription only.