I was going to post something about a new drug that helps you
learn faster. It is by a company called Cortex Inc, and is a
novel class of proprietary drugs, called AMPAKINE drugs.
Although they taut it as a drug for Alzheimer’s disease you
don't need Alzheimer’s to benifit from taking it.
Anything that will speed-up learning twice that of normal
has to be of interest to transhumanists. Better living through chemistry!
In any case, the drug isn't released yet. It is going through its paces
with the FDA and all their regulations. It has been in testing for some time.
So far, no bad side effects at all! Very uncommon for a neuroactive drug.
It's a very small molecule and passes the BBB (Blood Brain Barrier) in minutes.
Because its a small simple molecule it is also easy to produce.
Another thing that is interesting is that they know the exact pathways
that the drug works. Most drugs they can only guess at how it works.
What Ampakines do is keep the neuronal channels open for 1/1000 of a second
longer, causing better long term potentiation of memory (better long term memory).
This is just one of many drugs that transhumanists should watch closely.
It might be wise to create a general Pharmacology section with the boards:
1. Nootropics
2. Vitamin supplements
3. Herbal supplements
4. Prescription drugs
5. Experimental drugs
This way we could talk about all the different drugs and the studies being written on them.
And yes, I saw Nootropics under Health & Life Extension. Somehow discussions
about real drugs just don't fit with vitamin/herbal supplements.
Cortex Inc.
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"The mind is the final weapon, all else is supplemental." - John Steinbeck
Edited by samualt, 20 January 2003 - 03:25 PM.
