Piracetam combined with lecithin in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease

Growdon, John H.; Corkin, Suzanne; Huff, F. Jacob; Rosen, T. John

doi:10.1016/0197-4580(86)90007-2

Cited by 53 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…In one such placebo-controlled double-blind trial, piracetam improved attention but did not significantly improve cognition (Stegink 1972). It has also been shown that piracetam either alone or in combination with phosphatidylcholine did not significantly affect cognition in a group of patients with Alzheimer's disease as a whole, nor did it improve test performance in any single patient (Growdon et al 1986).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Effects of four non-cholinergic cognitive enhancers in comparison with tacrine and galanthamine on scopolamine-induced amnesia in rats

Chopin

Briley

1992

Psychopharmacology

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Amnesia can be induced in rats in the passive avoidance paradigm by administration of scopolamine, a central muscarinic receptor antagonist. Tacrine or galanthamine, inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase, given in conjunction with scopolamine partially reversed the scopolamine-induced deficit in passive avoidance performance. Four so-called cognitive enhancers, all widely used for the treatment of the symptoms associated with mental aging, cerebral insufficiency and senile memory disorder, were investigated in this paradigm. Piracetam, an extract of Ginkgo biloba, dihydroergocristine and a combination of raubasine with dihydroergocristine, all attenuated the amnesia induced by scopolamine. In contrast, nicergoline had no significant effect. Raubasine alone also failed to significantly attenuate scopolamine-induced amnesia, although some doses of raubasine had a non-significant tendency (P less than 0.10) to reduce the amnesia.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Effects of four non-cholinergic cognitive enhancers in comparison with tacrine and galanthamine on scopolamine-induced amnesia in rats

Chopin

Briley

1992

Psychopharmacology

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“…By the time Bartus et al (1982) published their review of the trials in Alzheimer-type dementia, they were able to report that of 17 trials using cholinergic precursors (choline or lecithin), 10 reported no effect, 6 reported non-significant trends towards improved cognitive performance, and only one study claimed statistically significant gains. Further trials reported in Johns et al (1983) were equally disappointing, as were trials of piracetam (McDonald, 1982;Branconnier, 1983) and of piracetam combined with lecithin (Growdon, Corkin, Huff and Rosen, 1986). Trials employing physostigmine or arecoline infusion appeared to be somewhat more successful; and Johns et al (1983) claimed that five out of seven studies of physostigmine infusion reported mild to moderate gains in Alzheimer cases .…”

Section: Early Studiesmentioning

confidence: 92%

The Cholinergic Neurotransmitter System in Human Memory and Dementia: A Review

Kopelman¹

1986

The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A

169

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The present paper reviews three types of evidence implicating the role of acetylcholine in human memory and dementia: (1) neuropathological evidence that the cholinergic transmitter system is depleted in Alzheimer-type dementia; (2) psychopharmacological studies that have employed “cholinergic blockade” as a model of cholinergic depletion; and (3) clinical studies of cholinergic “replacement” therapy in Alzheimer-type dementia. The evidence that the cholinergic system is depleted in Alzheimer-type dementia has been complemented by the finding that cholinergic blockade in healthy subjects causes a substantial learning (or “acquisition”) deficit in episodic memory. The overall results of studies of replacement therapy have generally been disappointing, but a few have reported benefits in recall and recognition tests. The role of the cholinergic system in many aspects of memory remains to be elucidated; but it seems unlikely that cholinergic depletion accounts for all aspects of the memory disorder in Alzheimer-type dementia, and possibly the depletions of other neurotransmitters also contribute to the memory impairment.

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“…Studies with older adults with probable pathology (Alzheimer's disease) have not generally found significant mnemonic benefits on an array of memory tests, though the number of subjects sampled has been very low. These failures to find expected benefits have prompted some researchers to suggest that piracetam might be more fruitfully applied to the older range of patients with age-associated memory impairment or Alzheimer's disease (the idea being that in such patients the disease is more prominently involved with cholinergic systems; Growdon et al, 1986).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A follow-up by Growdon et al (1986) also tested piracetam with lecithin (as well as piracetam alone) in a double-blind crossover design but included much more extensive memory testing, a variety of doses, and shorter treatment periods (2-4 weeks). This study also generally failed to demonstrate significant benefits of piracetam, either alone or in combination with lecithin.…”

Section: Effects On Patients With Probable Alzheimer's Diseasementioning

confidence: 99%

“Brain-Specific” Nutrients: A Memory Cure?

McDaniel

Maier

Einstein

2002

Psychol Sci Public Interest

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We review the experimental evaluations of several widely marketed nonprescription compounds claimed to be memory enhancers and treatments for age-related memory decline. We generally limit our review to double-blind placebo-controlled studies. The compounds examined are phos-phatidylserine (PS), phosphatidylcholine (PC), citicoline, piracetam, vinpocetine, acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC), and antiox-idants (particularly vitamin E). In animals, PS has been shown to attenuate many neuronal effects of aging, and to restore normal memory on a variety of tasks. Preliminary findings with humans, though, are limited. For older adults with probable Alzheimer's disease, a single study failed to demonstrate positive effects of PS on memory performance. For older adults with moderate cognitive impairment, PS has produced consistently modest increases in recall of word lists. Positive effects have not been as consistently reported for other memory tests. There is one report of consistent benefits across a number of memory tests for a subset of normal adults who performed more poorly than their peers at baseline. The choline compounds PC and citicoline are thought to promote synthesis and transmission of neurotransmitters important to memory. PC has not proven effective for improving memory in patients with probable Alzheimer's disease. The issue remains open for older adults without serious degenerative neural disease. Research on citicoline is practically nonexistent, but one study reported a robust improvement in story recall for a small sample of normally aging older adults who scored lower than their peers in baseline testing. Animal studies suggest that piracetam may improve neuronal efficiency, facilitate activity in neurotransmitter systems, and combat the age-related decrease in receptors on the neuronal membrane. However, for patients with probable Alzheimer's disease, as well as for adults with age-associated memory impairment, there is no clear-cut support for a mnemonic benefit of piracetam. Vinpocetine increases blood circulation and metabolism in the brain. Animal studies have shown that vinpocetine can reduce the loss of neurons due to decreased blood flow. In three studies of older adults with memory problems associated with poor brain circulation or dementia-related disease, vinpocetine produced significantly more improvement than a placebo in performance on global cognitive tests reflecting attention, concentration, and memory. Effects on episodic memory per se have been tested minimally, if at all. ALC participates in cellular energy production, a process especially important in neurons, and in removal of toxic accumulation of fatty acids. Animal studies show that ALC reverses the age-related decline in the number of neuron membrane receptors. Studies of patients with probable Alzheimer's disease have reported nominal advantages over a range of memory tests for ALC-treated patients relative to placebo groups. Significant differences have been reported rarely, however. Whether ALC would have mnemonic benefits for ...

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Piracetam combined with lecithin in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease

Cited by 53 publications

References 39 publications

Effects of four non-cholinergic cognitive enhancers in comparison with tacrine and galanthamine on scopolamine-induced amnesia in rats

Effects of four non-cholinergic cognitive enhancers in comparison with tacrine and galanthamine on scopolamine-induced amnesia in rats

The Cholinergic Neurotransmitter System in Human Memory and Dementia: A Review

“Brain-Specific” Nutrients: A Memory Cure?

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