This molecule of Japanese origin is the Used Panties Vending Machine of Racetams. I'm not desperate enough to spend my money on it.
From a 2012 paper from the research wing of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia:
"Dr. Hakonarson’s talk highlighted his work with a fasoracetam, adrug that was originally developed by the Japanese pharmaceutical company Nippon Shinyaku to treat Alzheimer’s disease but, afterbeing put through clinical trials, was shelved for efficacy reasons.Dr. Hakonarson and his team are currently investigating whether fasoracetam could be used to treat ADHD, a project he called a“representation of what genomics is offering."
"Likewise, fasoracetam has already been shown to ameliorate cognitive impairment and hyperactivity in animal models, Dr. Hakonarson noted, and if all goes well he and his team hope to launch a product by the end of 2016. That fasoracetam has already been through a battery of trials — 28 in all — allows for a truncated drug development timeline, and using genomics to determine new indications for available products can help speed therapies to market."
The Evidence for Fasoracetam is Scant
There are 10 research items on Pubmed for Fasoracetam, of these only a single one is the kind of human study that I like to see validating the smart drugs I use which describes it as
"a novel agent for cerebrovascular disease"
This Japanese study notably demonstrated no significant Nootropic or cognition enhancing effect. It used a statistically insignificant sample size of 14 men. The only value I see in this study is that it decreases the risk profile of this drug from...
A research chemical that's irresponsible for laypeople to consume
to
A research chemical of unproven benefit and is not worth spending money on
A 1999 study by Nippon Shinyaku Co. Research Laboratories called it a novel cognition enhancer but did not have any evidence of benefit.
Mechanism of Action
Fasoracetam works on 3 mechanisms; cholinergic, Gaba and glutamate.
Another study by Nippon Shinyaku Co. identified it's effect on the Choline system and Gaba receptors:
NS-105 showed antiamnestic actions in a variety of animal models of cholinergic dysfunction employed in this study.
Furthermore, effects of NS-105 on in vivo release of acetylcholine (ACh) in the cerebral cortex, high-affinity choline uptake (HACU) of the cerebral cortex in rats...
NS-105 (10 mg/kg) showed the increase of ACh release from the cerebral cortex and the enhancement of HACU both in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus... NS-105 also reversed memory disruption induced by baclofen, a potent GABA(B) receptor agonist, but all of reference drugs did not...
These results suggest that antiamnestic action of NS-105 is due to the facilitation of cholinergic neuronal activity and the suppression of GABA(B) receptor-mediated responses.
From 2000 Japanese paper
"These findings suggest that the inhibitory action of NS-105 on adenylyl cyclase activity is mediated through group II and group III mGlu receptor subclasses while the facilitatory action is dependent on the group I mGlu receptor subclass."
ADHD
The research objective of Fasoracetam was to treat ADHD. Stinkorninjor on Longecity has a pretty good hypothesis for it's mechanism:
A lot of ADHD is attributed to high levels of cAMP - well, the PFC-based symptoms, that is. Inability to control emotions, impressions, focusing, etc, are at least partially attributed to cAMP.
When Dopamine hits the D-receptors in the brain, they are supposed to activate and lower cAMP ( at least the D4 and D2-receptors are), but because of repeats in the genes, they don't decrease cAMP sufficiently - the result is complete signal-noise - it's like trying to tune in a channel on a radio, but there's too much static. You need something to cancel out all of the interference.
In theory... Fasoracetam could normalize cAMP-levels and produce better focus, without the side-effects of either stimulants or Alpha-2-agonists like Intuniv.
Biohacker Review
I used Fasoracetam for about a month and was pretty underwhelmed by it. I would typically use a dosage of 20 milligrams. There is a bit of a focusing effect similar to other Racetams but it's pretty short lived; 3-4 hours. I didn't find it energizing like Piracetam.
I did get aroused and had a very normal orgasm while on it. So no negative effect on libido here.
Since I've enjoyed Phenibut for quiet a while I had hoped that Fasoracetam might be the best of both worlds; the cognitive edge of a Racetam with the pro-social effect of a Gabaergic. Disappointingly, it didn't have a noticeable effect on my verbal skills or ability to socialize.
I had two experiences that were a little odd while on it...
One evening while doing my meditation I found myself very short of breath despite belly breathing in the proper taoist method. I decided to continue my meditation standing up and then I had an urge to shake my body. So I shook my body for several minute in a bit of a jerky jig that would not look so out of place at some discos.
One day I upped the dosage to 30 milligrams; which didn't have notable Nootropic effect however I got a therapeutic massage and I really had a tough time totally relaxing my body during the massage. I get massages frequently and usually I'm able to properly relax all my muscles during them so the masseuse can really work out all knots.
I can't blame these reactions on the Fasoracetam itself but as a Biohacker that self monitors closely they were noteworthy.
Motivation
From telight on Longecity:
"Experiencing greatly increased motivation, no real increase in cognitive performance (mental rotations, working memory, perceptual speed), but the motivation is really helping get things done... I am still experiencing a great deal of motivation even as I type this post right now, I am not experiencing any fatigue what's so ever and am ready for the challenges of the day...
Having taken it for about a week, I also notice some kind of long term pro-cognitive effect. I have been very productive, and successful academically this week, even when I took a day break I still felt very much above baseline especially in the motivation department."
Dosage
The Japanese study used a dosage of 100 milligrams daily, however most of the self experimenters starting with a dosage of 10 - 20 milligrams daily.
Related Rant
Fasoracetam is another example of irresponsible misrepresentation online of drugs that lay consumers really shouldn't be using. One of the first results on Google for Fasoracetam is the content farm Nootriment.com; their article enthusiastically recommends it for everything from intelligence to anxiety and irresponsibly fails the mentioned the numerous undesirable side effects reported. It also fails to make a clear distinction between this very dubious research chemical and cognitive enhancers that are proven by meaningful preponderance of human double blind, placebo controlled study.
While the Internet can inform us of very helpful drugs like Piracetam it also informs the masses about drugs like Fasoracetam that really don't belong outside of laboratory.
Nootriment concludes:
Although it is young, Fasoracetam will likely become a beloved members of many nootropic stacks.
God I hope not! I can't come up with any benefit of taking this risky drug that isn't offered by a much safer drug.
Side Effects
Effect on Orgasm
At least a couple of users agreed that it had an undesirable effect on libido and orgasm
"I am not sure at which doses the negative effects on orgasms began since during my faso trial I didn't have any orgasms. I was more interested in the academic work I was doing and completely didn't realize that I wasn't masturbating at all during the 3 weeks and when I did I noticed the strange feeling of ejaculating but not really experiencing an orgasm. Looking back I would say that it also decreased my sex drive, but this is actually a bonus for me since it allows me more time and better focus on much more important work."
MangekyōPeter concurred:
"To start things off I can definitely attest to the fact that Faso reduces the intensity of an orgasm dramatically. But it also has it's upsides like increased motivation and a clearer, more focused mind."
The good news is that this seems to be totally episodic, orgasms are back to normal a few days after going off Fasoracetam.
Anxiety
At least a couple of users have reported undesirable anxiety:
"I've tried Faso two times now, and am not a fan. On both attempts (5 and 10 mg respectively) I felt moderately "spaced out". I also experienced some anxiety."
Drowsiness
Reports of a sedative effect are also common:
"The first wave of effect came on me within about 10 minutes of popping it under my tongue. I was overcome with a pleasant drowsiness and I slumped forward in my chair with my eyes closed for several minutes. Then I came out of my stupor and felt a sense of well-being and the "clean" effect that others have mentioned. Several minutes later I became very drowsy again, almost like I had been drugged with a knockout type of drug."
