Smart Pill?

[johnny861]

Experimental Pill Boosts Smarts

An experimental pill has been found to improve people's smarts.
The drug, CX717, works by increasing levels of the chemical glutamate, which is involved in learning and remembering.

Part of a group of compounds called ampakines, the drug has demonstrated in UK tests on 16 sleep-deprived volunteers that it can improve wakefulness and mental ability.

CX717 is being considered by manufacturer Cortex for treating narcolepsy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The drug's creator, Gary Lynch from the University of California, told New Scientist magazine that the drug could also be used to treat jet lag and possibly even diseases such as Alzheimer's.

Lynch says the drug works by causing brain cells to communicate with each other better. With tiredness, communication between brain cells starts to fail.

Lynch also said the drug appears to have no adverse side effects, unlike such stimulants as amphetamines.

The drug was tested in a trial by Julia Boyle and colleagues of the University of Surrey on healthy men aged 18 to 45.

As part of the trial, participants were given either real or fake pills and then pulled an all-nighter while completing cognitive tests at various hours of the night and morning.

Those who took the real drug performed much better.

[Edwin Watson]

source????????

[johnny861]

Originally Posted by Edwin Watson

source????????

Here's the official Press Release, but there are a number of articles online.

http://www.genengnews.com/news/bnite...NEWSML_WEB.xml

Here's some additional contact information, if you'd like to know more.

Cortex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Roger G. Stoll, Ph.D. Chairman, President and CEO 949-727-3157 or The Investor Relations Group Damian McIntosh / Dian Griesel, Ph.D. 212-825-3210

[Edwin Watson]

just curious. this is what my girlfriend does, so....

[johnny861]

Originally Posted by Edwin Watson

just curious. this is what my girlfriend does, so....

Your girlfriend just earned 1,000 cool points in my book!

Here's to smart chicks benefitting humanity!

[ChunkyAcidReflux]

Interesting, what ever happened to all the smart pills they wre importing from europe a few years back. I recall a few poeple on DDM were taking them and swore that they worked.

sweet smart pills!!!

[Edwin Watson]

Originally Posted by johnny861

Your girlfriend just earned 1,000 cool points in my book!

Here's to smart chicks benefitting humanity!

yeah, she is a neuroscientist and has done quite a few memory studies. super cool, too. i lucked out.

[MattM]

isn't glutamate something you could get from just about any gnc though?

[Edwin Watson]

Originally Posted by MattM

isn't glutamate something you could get from just about any gnc though?

that is glutamine you are thinking of, not glutamate.

[MattM]

Originally Posted by Edwin Watson

that is glutamine you are thinking of, not glutamate.

Probably. But I believe glutamate is just some amino acid, or essentialy a protein that you could just get from eating a steak.

[Edwin Watson]

http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Synaptic...glutamate.html

[MattM]

basically what i mean is that glutamate is found naturally and in abundance in fish, poultry, milk, whey proteins, etc. the body also makes its own. some company is essentially just trying to capitalize selling 'smart pills'.

[Edwin Watson]

Originally Posted by MattM

basically what i mean is that glutamate is found naturally and in abundance in fish, poultry, milk, whey proteins, etc. the body also makes its own. some company is essentially just trying to capitalize selling 'smart pills'.

as i mentioned before, my girlfriend is a neuro and cognitive scientist, so i had a feeling about your answer because we talk about her work, but i wasnt sure and didnt know enought to give any definites, so i asked for you.

glutamate is not an amino acid, it is a neurotransmitter and it is not found in proteins in that form. Glutamine is an amino acid. After a few chemical reactions and breakdowns, one of the multitude of things (like 50 or so) that glutamine CAN become is glutamate. The main reason claimed by the health food manufaturers for the ingestion of glutamine is not memory it is to increase muscle mass.

Apparently, there have been no studies that my girlfriend knows of to indicate that an increased intake of the glutamine leads directly to an increased amount of the neuro transmitter glutamate and apparently any such study would be a total bitch to do. She thinks that we ingest plenty of it, but that it is the other substances involved in the reaction that would have to be increase, like this smart pill, to have an effect in increasing levels.

hope that clears it up a bit or at least adds a bit to the conversation.

[MattM]

Yes. It is a neurotransmitter by function, but definetely an amino acid as well, a very common one.

You guys can go spend your money on these "smart pills," I'll take a fat medium rare steak myself. .

Look at all these foods rich in glutamate,--- http://www.msgfacts.com/chart.html I'll take that stuff over some 'smart pill' anyday.