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account for hydergine's activating and mild mood-elevating effects, which occur in some
people.

The Bottom Line on Hydergine

As you may have gathered, I am not a great fan of hydergine, and neither are most physicians these
days. I think of it as a mildly activating agent in some cases, without any measurable effect on
memory. The advent of vitamin E, ginkgo biloba, cholinesterase inhibitors, phosphatidylserine, and
several other promemory agents has pushed hydergine far into the background. Most physicians have
stopped prescribing hydergine because there are so many other treatment options. If you or someone
close to you is on hydergine, note that the standard U.S. prescription dose is 3 mg per day, but in
Europe doses of 9 to 12 mg per day are often prescribed without any apparent problems. In a few
countries like Mexico, you can get hydergine over-the-counter. Since it is off patent, you can now
get cheaper generic products even in the United States. The main advantage is that there are very few
side effects with this medication. Nausea, stomach upset, and headache can rarely occur, but these
symptoms tend to be mild.

Nootropics: Drugs Meant to Make You Smarter

Nootropics, called ‘‘smart drugs” by some aficionados, refer to a wide range of potential memory-
enhancing medications. Over time, the term has become restricted to describe a relatively narrow
class of medications. Nootropics were developed with the idea that they would work not only for
people with memory disorders but would also improve cognitive performance in normal individuals.
The hope was that somehow these medications would help nerve cells sprout and form connections
with other nerve cells, but there are no sound experimental data to back this idea.

Piracetam, oxiracetam, aniracetam, and pramiracetam (all derived from pyrrolidone) are the most
widely used nootropic compounds.

Actions of Piracetam and Related Nootropics

In animal studies, they increase glucose metabolism in nerve cells.
In other animal studies, piracetam increased the number of acetylcholine receptors and the
amount of acetylcholine released into synapses.
In the laboratory, nootropics can boost memory in animals and reverse memory loss induced by
toxic drugs.