Piracetam is unlike many other drugs used in psychiatry, which boost the supply or availability of a neurotransmitter. It's a fine-tuning adjustment, not a big, bold sledgehammer. The clinical trial will be limited to children between the ages of 5 and 8, a period in which a normal brain goes through a winnowing-out phase. Some of the neural connections that developed earlier in childhood are lost. As this happens, thinking becomes more focused and disciplined.
Trouble is, Down syndrome children have fewer connections to lose.
Next month, Kennedy Krieger will start a trial involving 10 to 15 children whose IQs range from 45 to 70. Over the course of six months, researchers will administer tests to see if children taking piracetam do better than those taking a placebo. Capone's approach has the support of Dr. Allen Crocker , a Harvard University pediatrician who is co-chairman of the professional advisory board for the National Down Syndrome Congress. That organization recently said that lack of proof prevents its endorsement of piracetam. It's there, people are yearning for the pursuit of positive effects, and there's no way to get there without measurements.