Unfortunately, given my own experience with deprenyl I'm not sure. No strong data, but my gut feeling (and what I've read in reports) goes against it being all that helpful for serious inattention, at least in monotherapy with aricept. What it seems like is that it helps people who are already focused, or who have some element of hyperactivity -- hence the positive results in Tourette's. I have a little theory regarding deprenyl that it might potentiate the existing "balance" (limbic/prefrontal) of dopaminergic function. Methylphenidate and amphetamine both tend to emphasize prefrontal transmission over limbic dopamine, hence their usefulness -- and amphetamine is better than methylphenidate here, and Frangible tells me this is probably why it's more effective in inattention. Likewise, I think this might be why D2/D3 agonists (the prefrontal cortex mostly expresses D1) aren't so good for ADD/ADHD alone, though very effective for anhedonia. Bromocriptine, which actually antagonizes D1 to some extent, is pretty well-known for not being helpful in the slightest for focus/attention.
Selegiline might be useful for improving things once we've already created some element of prefrontal cortex support. I feel the same way about aricept.
Keep in mind these are just my thoughts.
How can we go about improving prefrontal cortex function without drugs, through neuroplasticity? Well, consistent, focused effort is probably a start. Meditation, exercise ... socializing? Martial arts? The problem in inattentive ADD I think is that the condition makes it very difficult to maintain this sort of effort over long periods of time -- you need something to kick you in the ass.
Glycine is very interesting too. So is nicotine.
I also just purchased a large quantity of Trivastal, which is D2/D3 but whose main metabolite is D1 (and this drug has a 21 hour half life/stable blood levels over 24 hours in the Trivastal Retard formulation -- potentially a lot of metabolite), and which has been getting very promising reports for improving focus. I should be able to report on this in the earlier days of the New Year.
Wonder when we'll see pure D1 agonists, like dihydrexidine. I would think this would be getting more research, as shitty prefrontal control is a big component of the negative symptoms of schizophrenia.
Edited by graatch, 19 December 2007 - 08:41 AM.