Memory drugs - part 1

 1990s were the vanguard of the sexual stimulant revolution in the case of pharmaceutical sector. Now, 2000s will be the age of memory enhancing drugs? Memory enhancing drugs are in the pipelines of several biopharmaceutical companies. Companies like Memory Pharmaceuticals, Sention, Saegis Pharmaceuticals, and Cortex Pharmaceuticals all have these drugs in the pipeline. If they do well, these companies will repeat the success stories of Viagra, Levitra makers (Pfizer and GSK respectively).

 Is it time to get in to the memory drug market now? Hard to say. But it is growing increasingly clear that clinical researchers have begun to reveal code surrounding the molecular details of how memory works. According to an article on Forbes.com, much of the hard work in decoding memory neurons has already completed. “Companies are near to create a kind of Viagra for the brain,” says the article. “If we continue making the kind of progress we are now, we will have drugs for age-related memory loss in five to ten years,” says Eric Kandel, the founder of Memory Pharmaceuticals.

 Imagine the millions of people suffering from Alzheimers disease steadily getting their memories back? Or about head trauma sufferers or stroke patients regain their memories and recognize their loved ones again. Roughly one third of all people age 60 and over suffer from memory and recall woes. In US, one quarter of people age at 85 and over are afflicted with dementia.

So far, research scientists are focusing on a new class of drugs called ampakines, where evidence shows that it could increase the flow of acetylcholine to the brain and heighten the mind’s ability to process information better and even create new memories. From a recent study, research shows that ampakine – tested under the clinical name CX717 at the University of Surrey in UK – significantly improved the memories of 16 male study participants between ages of 18 and 45. The more ampakine the study subjects ingested, the better their memories tested with study researchers. Another study demonstrated in a unique primary model that the CX717 improved cognitive performance and also reversed the deleterious effects of deprivation.

 Another memory – enhancement drug, donepezil, is showing both scientific and commercial promise as well. According to a study by the American Academy of Neurology, the drug may improve the memory of the Alzheimers patients and those suffering with multiple sclerosis.