Clinical efficacy of a Ginkgo biloba extract in the topical treatment of allergic conjunctivitis

PURPOSE. To investigate the clinical efficacy of a Ginkgo biloba extract associated with hyaluronic acid ophthalmic solution (GB-HA, Trium®, SOOFT, Italy), compared to hyaluronic acid ophthalmic solution (HA) alone, in seasonal allergic conjunctivitis (AC). METHODS. A total of 60 patients with symptomatic AC were enrolled and randomly assigned to the two treatment regimens. After a washout period of 15 days, the treatment with GB-HA eyedrops or HA ophthalmic solution alone was initiated and continued for 1 month. The clinical symptoms such as conjunctival hyperemia, conjunctival discharge, and chemosis, and subjective signs as itching, photophobia, stinging, and lacrimation, were evaluated before and after the treatment. A 0-4 score was used by an independent clinical observer to quantify the above parameters. RESULTS. Patients treated with GB-HA, compared to patients treated with HA alone, showed a significant decrease in the appearance of conjunctival hyperemia, conjunctival discharge, and chemosis. Furthermore, all patients treated with GB-HA showed a significant improvement of subjective symptoms, compared to HA patients. Compared to their baseline values, patients treated with HA alone showed a small but not significant improvement in only some of the clinical and subjective symptoms. CONCLUSIONS. The results suggest that Ginkgo biloba extract may exert therapeutic activity in the treatment of seasonal allergic conjunctivitis. Hyaluronic acid did not exert any valuable effect on this pathology. © Wichtig Editore, 2009.