Jef's web files - Nootropics

Nootropics

Sun, 25 Apr 2004 15:39:23 -0400

Nootropics

Sharper Minds

Tue, 21 Dec 2004 10:54:05 -0500

It would be hard to imagine improving on the intelligence of computer engineer Bjoern Stenger, a doctoral candidate at Cambridge University. Yet for several hours, a pill seemed to make him even brainier.

Participating in a research project, Stenger downed a green gelatin cap containing a drug called modafinil. Within an hour, his attention sharpened. So did his memory. He aced a series of mental-agility tests. If his brainpower would normally rate a 10, the drug raised it to 15, he said.

"I was quite focused," said Stenger. "It was also kind of fun."

The age of smart drugs is dawning. Modafinil is just one in an array of brain-boosting medications — some already on pharmacy shelves and others in development — that promise an era of sharper thinking through chemistry.

These drugs may change the way we think. And by doing so, they may change who we are.

Long-haul truckers and Air Force pilots have long popped amphetamines to ward off drowsiness. Generations of college students have swallowed over-the-counter caffeine tablets to get through all-nighters. But such stimulants provide only a temporary edge, and their effect is broad and blunt — they boost the brain by juicing the entire nervous system.

The new mind-enhancing drugs, in contrast, hold the potential for more powerful, more targeted and more lasting improvements in mental acuity. Some of the most promising have reached the stage of testing in human subjects and could become available in the next decade, brain scientists say.

Treatment with carbenoxolone is associated with improved verbal fluency and verbal memory in elderly men

Sat, 17 Apr 2004 21:45:21 -0400

Treatment with carbenoxolone is associated with improved verbal fluency and verbal memory in elderly men, according to a report by UK researchers in an online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, published on March 29th.

Editorial: Nicotine's Nice Side

Fri, 02 Jan 2004 14:05:46 -0500

Now that the tobacco industry has blinked, agreeing that cigarettes are a health hazard and discussing a $250 billion fund to pay for smoking-related illness, perhaps it's time to think about the unthinkable:

Suppose nicotine were good for you?

Behind the headlines is growing evidence that nicotine, the substance that makes tobacco addictive, may have some therapeutic effects. It's conceivable that future physicians might well prescribe nicotine -- as a drug, not a cigarette -- to relieve symptoms for a variety of diseases from schizophrenia and Alzheimer's to attention deficit disorder and colitis.

Cerebral effects of nicotine during cognition in smokers and non-smokers

Fri, 02 Jan 2004 14:06:43 -0500

For the smoker, nicotine has a positive effect on attention, cognition and mood. Conversely, nicotine abstinence is characterized by uncomfortable psychological effects such as impaired attention, but also irritability. We postulated that nicotine exerts an effect on cerebral areas important for attention and mood. Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), as an index for cerebral activity, was measured in both smokers and non-smokers. They were scanned during performance of a psychometric task with and without i.v. infusion of nicotine (1-methyl-2-3-pyridyll pyrrolidine). Nicotine induced rCBF decreases in the anterior cingulate cortex and the cerebellum, and concomitant increases in the occipital cortex. The changes were similar in nature and magnitude in smokers and non-smokers. Thus, specific changes were induced in areas pertaining to the anterior attention system and to higher order visual cortex. We conclude that these effects on cerebral activity provide insights into the desired positive effects of nicotine on cognition as well as the negative effects experienced during nicotine abstinence.

The Effects of Nicotine on Learning and Memory in Old and Young Rats

Fri, 02 Jan 2004 14:07:28 -0500

Many cognitive skills decline with age, including short and long-term memory (Smith 1996; Zornetzer, et al. 1982). In rats, these deficits appear to be associated with neurochemical changes in the brain such as reduced levels of acetylcholine (Perry et al.
1992) and a decrease in the number of nicotine receptors (Court and Clementi, 1995). Deficits similar to these have been reported in patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease (Coyle et al., 1983) and suggesting that drug treatments that increase the levels of acetylcholine in the brain (cholinergic agonists) may be an effective treatment for this disease. The two cholinergic agonists currently approved by the FDA (Donepezil and Tacrine) have a limited positive effect on memory and have serious side effects (Sahakian and Coull, 1993). There is a need for the development of new drug treatments that are effective in counering the effects of aging on memory.

One possible cholinergic agonist with promising effect is nicotine. Nicotine agonists produce memory deficits in rats (Levin et al. 1997) and impair the neurological functioning of healthy humans in ways that mimic the early stages of Alzheimer's disease (Newhouse et al., 1992). The evidence in supprt of nicotine as a treatment for memory deficits is mixed. Some studies have found improvements in short-term memory but not
long-term memory in rats(Levin et al., 1993), while other have found the opposite (Arendash et al. 1995).

Zelapar (selegiline) awaiting FDA approval

Sat, 17 Apr 2004 21:46:40 -0400

If you were designing a lozenge for people who wanted to protect their brain, reduce damage from free-radicals, extend their lifespan and improve their cognitive performance, it would probably look like this.

The US Food and Drug Administration has issued an approvable letter relating to a new drug application for a product called Zelapar.

A proprietary formulation of selegiline, Zelapar is an oral tablet that dissolves in the mouth in seconds and is quickly absorbed.

London-based Amarin has the exclusive option to acquire the US rights to the tablet, which it wants to market as an adjunct treatment to levodopa for symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

The Battle for Your Brain

Sat, 17 Apr 2004 21:47:55 -0400

Science is developing ways to boost intelligence, expand memory, and more. But will you be allowed to change your own mind?

"We're on the verge of profound changes in our ability to manipulate the brain," says Paul Root Wolpe, a bioethicist at the University of Pennsylvania. He isn't kidding. The dawning age of neuroscience promises not just new treatments for Alzheimer's and other brain diseases but enhancements to improve memory, boost intellectual acumen, and fine-tune our emotional responses. "The next two decades will be the golden age of neuroscience," declares Jonathan Moreno, a bioethicist at the University of Virginia. "We're on the threshold of the kind of rapid growth of information in neuroscience that was true of genetics 15 years ago."

The genetic basis for caffeine-induced anxiety discovered

Mon, 09 Dec 2002 10:06:02 -0500

Most people find caffeine stimulating � Americans alone consume about 350 million cups of coffee daily. But some people find that it makes them anxious instead.
A recently completed study sheds new light on the likely reason for this difference. Individuals who have two linked genetic variations are far more likely to end up biting their nails following a jolt of caffeine than those who don't, reported Harriet de Wit of the University of Chicago on Sunday, Dec. 8 at the annual meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology held in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Good news for coffee drinkers

Sat, 09 Nov 2002 17:39:16 -0500

The cup that helps millions of people get started in the morning, and
several more cups throughout the day, may reduce the risk of diabetes,
Dutch researchers said Friday.

Scientists at Vrije University in Amsterdam said components in coffee seem
to help the body metabolize sugar, thereby reducing the risk of diabetes,
which affects 130 million people worldwide.

Alertness pill seeks wider uses

Thu, 22 Jan 2004 21:52:21 -0500

A drug designed to help people with a particular sleep disorder to stay awake could soon be licensed to perk up sleepy shift workers and others affected by drowsiness. The prospect is stirring up a debate about the dangers of popping a pill to counter a sleep-deprived lifestyle.

Provigil, as the drug is known in the US and Britain, is approved for treating the daytime sleepiness associated with the rare condition called narcolepsy, which makes people fall asleep involuntarily. But last week, the drug's manufacturer, Cephalon of West Chester, Pennsylvania, announced results from a clinical trial of 209 shift workers that showed it helps those with "shift work sleep disorder" - excessive sleepiness caused by odd working hours.

Seeking Smart Drugs

Thu, 31 Oct 2002 09:41:36 -0500

Federal and biotech labs research a new generation of drug therapy that improves memory and concentration without side effects