(58% of Patients Show Improved Memory and Cognition … )

New research from the past 2 years—some just a couple of months old—proves the effectiveness and safety of this high-impact, natural youth-promoting substance. It begins developing in your cells 8 weeks after conception. But it starts dropping dramatically once you turn 25. Here’s what you can do to replenish it and to reclaim the youthful you…

It’s true. Having taken notice of the success the Chinese have had in treating Alzheimer’s, the traditional medical establishment (and not just the alternative medical community which has been promoting Huperzine-A for more than a decade) is now both acknowledging the effectiveness of this substance and actively pursuing their own developmental studies.

For example, the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, in their position statement regarding principles of care for patients with dementia resulting from Alzheimer disease, mentions Huperzine-A and says “it may have efficacy as a treatment of the cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in some clinical trials.”¹

And even more exciting (or disturbing depending upon your point of view) is the fact that an American pharmaceutical company is attempting to have the FDA classify Huperzine-A as a drug for the treatment of Alzheimer’s.

The fact that pharmaceutical medicine is now endorsing an extract from Chinese moss is surprising to say the least. Conventional medicine has long turned its back and thumbed its nose at natural cures, usually for monetary reasons. But with more than 20 years of clinical proof from studies conducted in China, and the pending epidemic of Alzheimer’s here in the United States, the race is on to make Huperzine-A a patentable, pharmaceutical drug and reap millions of dollars of profit.

What’s all the fuss about Huperzine-A?

Right now, Huperzine-A is approved as a drug in China to treat Alzheimer’s disease and other age-associated memory impairments, and it is currently marketed in the U.S. as a dietary supplement that promotes memory and brain health.

But its real power, and the reason Big Pharma is so interested in it, is its ability to inhibit acetylcholinesterase, which is an enzyme found in the brain that breaks down acetylcholine. ²

A shortage of acetylcholine is considered the most common cause of memory loss, decreased learning ability, and intelligence. Additionally, the greatest amount of damage in the Alzheimer’s brain is in the cells using acetylcholine.³

To understand the significance of this, it’s important to understand how acetylcholine works in the brain. This messenger molecule is the most abundant and essential neurotransmitter in the brain and is responsible for numerous functions, including many related to cognition and memory. Acetylcholine is released into the synapse, or space between two nerve cells, where it stimulates the transfer of nerve impulses from one nerve cell to another. After the nerve impulse is transmitted, acetylcholinesterase—an enzyme that is found between nerve endings—breaks down acetylcholine into choline and acetate, and the nerve signal ends.

Loss of acetylcholine function is a primary feature of several types of brain dysfunction, including Alzheimer’s disease. In Alzheimer’s disease and senile dementia, acetylcholine is destroyed too quickly, and consequently the nerve impulse is either too weak to be received or it is incompletely transmitted between nerve cells.

Huperzine-A inhibits the activity of acetylcholinesterase, so the breakdown of acetylcholine is slowed and the strength and duration of the nerve impulse is improved. In fact, Professor Joel Sussman, of the Weizmann Institute in Israel who studied the structure and function of Huperzine-A said, “It is as if this natural substance were ingeniously designed to fit into the exact spot in acetylcholinesterase where it will do the most good.”⁴

Scientific studies support Huperzine-A

In the 20+ years since it was first identified, hundreds of scientific studies in both human and animal models show Huperzine-A makes more acetylcholine available for better brain functioning.⁵

Back in 1995, a double-blind, placebo controlled study at Zhejiang Medical University, in Hangzhou, China, 50 Alzheimer’s patients received 200 mcg of Huperzine-A and 53 received a placebo for 8 weeks. All the patients were evaluated with several memory exams, including the Wechsler memory scale and the minimental state examination scale.

At the end of the study, about 58% (29/50) of the patients treated with Huperzine-A showed significant improvements in their memory, cognitive, and behavioral functions versus only 36% of those receiving the placebo. There were no adverse side effects reported, and the researchers said, “Huperzine is a promising drug for symptomatic treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.”⁶

In a more recent study, Huperzine-A was tested on 202 mild to moderate Alzheimer’s patients at the Peking Medical College Hospital in Beijing, China. One group was given 400 mcg of Huperzine-A per day for 12 weeks, and the other group was given a placebo. All patients were assessed with tests that evaluated their cognitive function, daily life activity, and non-cognitive disorders such as muscle control. The group treated with Huperzine-A showed remarkable improvement in cognition, behavior and mood, in comparison to the placebo group. There were no side effects except for a few reports of very mild insomnia and water retention in a few patients, and these effects were transient.⁷

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