From the data reported in the literature , it emerges that nootropics may be an effective alternative for strengthening and enhancing cognitive performance in patients with a range of pathologies .
Although nootropics , and specifically the cholinergic precursors , already have a long history behind them , according to recent renewal of interest , they still seem to have a significant therapeutic role .
Drugs with regulatory indications for symptomatic treatment of Alzheimer 's disease , such as cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine , often have transient effects in dementia disorders .
Nootropics represent probably the first " smart drugs " used for the treatment of cognitive deficits .
The aim of this paper is to verify , by a systematic analysis of the literature , the effectiveness of nootropics in this indication .
The analysis was limited to nootropics with cholinergic activity , in view of the role played by acetylcholine in learning and memory .
Acetylcholine was the first neurotransmitter identified in the history of neuroscience and is the main neurotransmitter of the peripheral , autonomic , and enteric nervous systems .
[Effects of CDP-choline on dynamic changes in LCBF and cognitive function in demented subjects--an H2 15O-PET study].
We studied correlations of serial changes in local cerebral blood flow ( LCBF ) after single intravenous ( i.v . ) injection of cytidine diphosphate choline ( CDP-choline ) to changes in cognitive function in demented subjects after its daily administration for one week . The study group consisted of 7 patients with dementia of vascular origin ( VD group ; mean age 65.0 years ) and 3 patients with dementia of non-vascular origin ( non-VD group ; 64.7 years ) .  Cognitive function was evaluated with the Japanese version of the Cross Cultural Cognitive Examination ( CCCE ) . After i.v . injection of CDP-choline , mean supratentorial LCBF increased with the maximum value at 40 minutes post-injection in the VD-group , but decreased in the non-VD group ( Type , n.s . ; Time , n.s . ; Type x Time , p < 0.01 ; ANOVA ) . The number of the pass-tasks in CCCE increased significantly after the 7 days-injection of CDP-choline only in the VD group ( p < 0.05 ) , while it was fairly stable in 15 control patients , who were matched in age and severity of dementia to the study patients . In this group , a change in the number of pass-tasks was significantly correlated with those in LCBF at ROIs in the left and right temporal cortices and the right thalamus . In the non-VD group , there were no significant changes of mean supratentorial LCBF and of the number of pass-tasks in CCCE . These results may be attributable to difference in availability of the acetylcholine neurotransmitter system in the brain between VD- and non-VD patients
From the data reported in the literature , it emerges that nootropics may be an effective alternative for strengthening and enhancing cognitive performance in patients with a range of pathologies .
Although nootropics , and specifically the cholinergic precursors , already have a long history behind them , according to recent renewal of interest , they still seem to have a significant therapeutic role .
Drugs with regulatory indications for symptomatic treatment of Alzheimer 's disease , such as cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine , often have transient effects in dementia disorders .
Nootropics represent probably the first " smart drugs " used for the treatment of cognitive deficits .
The aim of this paper is to verify , by a systematic analysis of the literature , the effectiveness of nootropics in this indication .
The analysis was limited to nootropics with cholinergic activity , in view of the role played by acetylcholine in learning and memory .
Acetylcholine was the first neurotransmitter identified in the history of neuroscience and is the main neurotransmitter of the peripheral , autonomic , and enteric nervous systems .