Nootropic drugs - what are these medicines? You will receive the answer to the question from the submitted article. In addition, you will learn the history of their occurrence, principles of action, properties, indications and effects of the application.
General information
Nootropic drugs - what is it? Such drugs improve brain function, rejuvenate the body and prolong life. These are neurometabolic stimulants that have an activating effect on learning. In addition, they markedly improve mental activity and memory. The term "nootropic" is composed of two Greek words νους and τροπή, which in translation means "reason" and "change", respectively.
Description
Nootropic drugs do not have their own class in the classification of medical drugs. That is why they were combined with psychostimulants and began to belong to the pharmacotherapeutic group with the following ATX code: N06BX.
History of occurrence
In 1963, the Belgian pharmacologists S. Giurgea and V. Skondia synthesized the first drug from the presented group - Piracetam. Today, such a nootropic drug is known to most patients under the name Nootropil. Like a psychostimulant in the mid-20th century, he increased the mental performance of a person and at the same time did not have any side effects.
In 1972, one of the creators of this medication proposed the term "nootropic" to refer to groups of drugs that improve intellectual memory, learning and attention, and also affect transcallosal potential, have antihypoxic activity and do not negatively affect the body.
Unlike well-known psychostimulants, nootropic drugs stimulate nerve cells, which further leads to an increase in their activity, which is quantitative rather than qualitative. It should be especially noted that the effect of most of these drugs does not appear after the first dose, but with prolonged treatment.
The latest nootropics
Currently, more than 10 original nootropic drugs of the pyrrolidine series have been synthesized, which are in phase 3 of clinical trials or have already been registered in a number of countries. Among these drugs, one can distinguish “Oxiracetam”, “Nefiracetam”, “Etiracetam”, “Aniracetam”, “Rolziracetam”, “Isacetam”, “Pramiracetam”, “Cebrecetam”, “Dupracetam”, “Detiracetam” and others. The medications presented have the common name is "Racetam".
Among all others, other families of nootropic drugs were synthesized, including GABAergic, cholinergic, glutamatergic and peptidergic systems. It should also be noted that the nootropic active component is present in other medicines, which have a different chemical origin.
Operating principle
Nootropic drugs - what are these medicines, and why are they prescribed? The therapeutic effect of such medicines is based on several mechanisms:
- activation of plastic processes in the central nervous system due to the strengthening of proteins and RNA synthesis;
- Improving the energy state of neurons, which is manifested in enhancing the synthesis of ATP, as well as antihypoxic and antioxidant effects;
- improved glucose utilization;
- strengthening synaptic transmission processes in the central nervous system;
- membrane stabilizing effect.
Features of drugs
The main mechanisms of such drugs are considered to be their direct effect on bioenergy and metabolic processes in nerve cells, as well as interaction with brain systems (primarily neurotransmitter).
It has long been proven that nootropics are able to activate adenylate cyclase and increase its concentration in the neuron. In addition, an increased level of cyclic adenosine monophosphate leads through a change in the flow of intracellular Ca2 + and K + ions to the rapid release of the mediator from the sensory neuron.
It should also be noted that activated adenylate cyclase is able to maintain production stability in ATP cells without oxygen, and in conditions of hypoxia translate the brain metabolism into a maintained mode.
Nootropic drugs for the elderly and children are essential to increase their creative activity and restore the delay in intellectual development. Manufacturers of such stimulants argue that their medications improve the metabolism of nucleic acids, activate protein synthesis, ATP and RNA, penetrate well through the BBB, and also increase the rate of glucose use.
Nootropic Properties
The effect of a number of nootropic drugs is sometimes mediated through the neurotransmitter system of the brain (cholinergic, monoaminergic, glutamatergic).
According to manufacturers, nootropics are capable of exerting other types of effects, including:
- antioxidant;
- membrane stabilizing;
- neuroprotective;
- antihypoxic.
Other drug options
Nootropic drugs are recommended to be used comprehensively. After all, the bioelectric activity and integrative activity of the brain are only improved in such a way that it manifests itself in the form of characteristic changes in electrophysiological patterns (a marked increase in the level of wakefulness, as well as the dominant peak, facilitated passage of information between the hemispheres of the brain, increased relative and absolute power of the EEG spectrum of the hippocampus and cortex).
Due to the increase in cortico-subcortical control, the improvement of information exchange in the brain, the positive effect on the reproduction and formation of a memorable trace, we can safely say that such drugs lead to an increase in learning ability, improved memory, thinking, attention, perception, as well as activation of intellectual functions .
By the way, many manufacturing companies claim that such tools can significantly improve and accelerate cognitive (or cognitive) functions. However, these statements have not been scientifically confirmed.
Effects
According to the manufacturers, nootropic drugs have the following effects on humans:
- Mnemotropic (affect learning and memory).
- Nootropic (affect the level of critical capabilities and judgments, as well as impaired cortical functions, improve cortical control of subcortical activity, attention, thinking and speech).
- Adaptogenic (affect tolerance to various factors, including drugs, increase the body's overall resistance to extreme factors).
- They increase the level of clarity, consciousness, wakefulness (affect the state of dull and oppressed consciousness).
- Psychostimulant (affect mental inertness, hypobulia, impulse poverty, apathy, spontaneity and psychomotor inhibition).
- Antiasthenic (affect exhaustion, lethargy, weakness, physical and mental asthenia phenomena).
- Sedative (reduce irritability and emotional excitability).
- Antidepressant.
- Antikinetic.
- Vegetative (affect dizziness, headache and cerebrosthenic syndrome).
- Antiepileptic (affect paroxysmal epileptic activity).
- Anti-Parkinsonian.
- Energetic.
- Somatotropin-stimulating (growth hormone is released).
- Hypoglycemic (reduce the concentration of glucose in blood plasma).
- Lipolytic (in conditions of glucose deficiency they release energy in the form of fatty acids).
- Antitoxic (excreting waste products from the body and neutralizing various harmful substances).
- Anabolic
- Immunostimulatory.
Are nootropic drugs effective for the prevention of stroke?
What are these medicines, we figured out. But here a new question arises about how effective they are in the treatment and prevention of strokes. It should be noted that this practice is in doubt. This is due to the fact that the use of nootropics in relation to such deviations was not confirmed by evidence-based medicine.
Clinical application
Before explaining why such drugs are used in official medicine, it should be noted that nootropic drugs without prescriptions by doctors are not dispensed in pharmacies. This is because they belong to the same drug group as strong psychostimulants.
The medicines originally presented were used to treat brain disorders in the elderly with organic brain syndrome. Although in the past few years (as a rule, in third world countries) they have become quite widely used in various fields of medicine, including surgery, pediatrics, psychiatry, neurology, narcology, as well as obstetric and geriatric practices.
Thus, nootropic drugs are used by doctors for:
- chronic cerebrovascular insufficiency;
- intoxication;
- neurosis-like and neurotic disorders;
- dementia of various origins (senile, vascular, as well as in Alzheimer's disease);
- psycho-organic syndrome;
- traumatic brain injury;
- vegetative-vascular dystonia;
- cerebrovascular accident;
- intellectual and mnestic disorders (impaired concentration of attention, memory and thinking);
- chronic alcoholism (psycho-organic syndrome, encephalopathy, withdrawal symptoms);
- depressive, astheno-depressive and asthenic syndromes;
- neuroinfection;
- to improve mental performance.
Indications to children
In developing countries, the agents presented are especially common in pediatrics. Thus, nootropic drugs are prescribed for children with:
- mental retardation;
- delayed speech and mental development;
- cerebral palsy;
- consequences of perinatal damage to the central nervous system;
- attention deficit disorder.
Other indications for use
The best nootropic drug is that drug that has a pronounced therapeutic effect and does not negatively affect the human body. It should be noted that such funds are sometimes used for:
- stuttering (Pantogam, Phenibut);
- correction of antipsychotic syndrome (Hopantenic acid, Pyritinol, Deanol Aceglumat, Pantogam);
- hyperkinesis ("Hopantenic acid", "Phenibut", "Memantine");
- urination disorder (Pantogam, Nicotinoyl-GABA);
- sleep disturbances (Phenibut, Calcium gamma-hydroxybutyrate, Glycine);
- migraines (Pyritinol, Nicotinoyl-GABA, Semax);
- dizziness ("Ginkgo biloba", "Phenibut", "Piracetam");
- for the prevention of motion sickness ("GABA", "Phenibut").
By the way, in ophthalmic practice, such drugs are used as part of combination therapy for open-angle glaucoma, vascular diseases of the retina and macula (Nicotinoyl-GABA), as well as senile macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy (Ginkgo biloba).
Natural Nootropics
In addition to drugs, natural substances with similar properties are often used to obtain a therapeutic effect. Naturally, natural nootropics are not as effective as pharmacological agents, but within a few weeks after use, patients still begin to notice an improvement in cognitive functions, etc.