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Smart Drugs & Nutrients:

How to Improve Your Memory and Increase Your Intelligence Using the Latest Discoveries In Neuroscience

VOLUME 1 in the Smart Drugs Series

by Ward Dean, M.D. & John Morgenthaler
$12.95 - 224 pages, softcover (Out of Stock)

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Sec 5: Other Cognitive Enhancers

Acetyl­L-Carnitine (ALC) | Caffeine | Centrophenoxine (Lucidril) | Choline & Lecithin | AL721 (Egg Lecithin) | DHEA | DMAE | Gerovital (GH­3) | Ginkgo Biloba: A Nootropic Herb? | Ginseng | Hydergine | Idebenone | Phenytoin (Dilantin) | Propranolol Hydrochloride (Inderal) | Thyroid Hormone | Vasopressin (Diapid) | Vincamine | Vitamins | Xanthinol Nicotinate

Idebenone

Idebenone is closely related to CoEnzyme Q10 (CoQ10), a substance that has been assiduously studied in Japan. CoQ10 is an important biological molecule, and is found in very high concentrations in the human heart. It has a key role in the creation of ATP, the universal energy molecule. CoQ10 has many remarkable properties, including extending life span in animals, and curing some gum diseases in humans more effectively than any other substance. However, CoQ10 has troubled some researchers because of its ability to metabolize into a toxic molecule with a highly reactive free radical. Idebenone seems to have all the benefits of CoQ10, yet it does not create such a reactive metabolite (Pearson and Shaw, 1989).

Idebenone is an antioxidant. It can reduce the damage caused by strokes induced in experimental animals. It also improves cerebral energy metabolism.

Idebenone protects experimental animals from the debilitating effects on memory and cognition caused by hypoxia (deficient blood oxygenation), anti-cholinergic substances, and low levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin.

Low serotonin levels were induced in rats to test the effects of idebenone. The rats were fed diets with no tryptophan, a precursor of serotonin. When given idebenone, the rats performed as well on a discrimination test as rats with normal serotonin levels (Nomura, 1985). Another study, on seven patients with mental and intellectual impairment, showed that idebenone can improve neurotransmitter levels in patients with cerebrovascular dementia, especially promot­ing serotonin replacement (Kawakami, 1989). Low serotonin levels in humans are associated with impulsiveness, bad temper and violent behavior. Studies of violent people in prisons have found low levels of serotonin metabolites, indicating low serotonin levels. If you fly off the handle too easily, idebenone could have profound stabilizing effects on your state of mind. We would appreciate hearing from anyone who experiments with idebenone for this purpose.

Precautions: The one safety/tolerance study we could find said that idebenone, "was well-tolerated with regard to the subjective and objective assessments made during the study. There were no changes in clinical laboratory values which could be directly attributed to the administration of idebe­none" (Barkworth, 1985).

Dosage: 100mg per day.

Sources: Idebenone is available in Japan with a doctor's prescription, but is very expensive. Other names include: Avan and CV‑2619.

References:

Barkworth, M.F., Dyde, C.J., Johnson, K.I., Schnelle, K. "An Early Phase I Study to Determine the Tolerance, Safety and Pharmacokinetics of Idebenone Following Multiple Oral Doses." Arzneimittelforschung. 1985, 35 (11) pp. 1704‑7.

Kawakami, M., Itoh, T. "Effects of Idebenone on Monoamine Metabolites in Cerebrospinal Fluid of Patients with Cerebrovascular Dementia." Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics. 1989, 8 (3) pp. 343‑53.

Kiyota, Y., Miyamoto, M., Nagaoka, A. "Ameliorating Effects of Idebenone and Indeloxazine Hydrochloride on Impairment of Radial Maze Learning in Cerebral Embolized Rats." Nippon Yakurigaku Zasshi. 1989, 93 (3) pp. 197‑202.

Nomura, M. "Effect of Idebenone (CV‑2619) on Brightness Discrimination Learning in Rats with Central Serotonergic Dysfunction." Yakubutsu Seishin Kodo. 1985, 5 (3) pp. 243‑9.

Pearson, D., Shaw, S. Durk Pearson & Sandy Shaw's Life Extension Newsletter. September‑October 1989, Vol 2, Number 7, p. 62.

Yamazaki, N., Nomura, M., Nagaoka, A., Nagawa, Y. "Idebenone Improves Learning and Memory Impairment Induced by Cholinergic or Serotonergic Dysfunction in Rats." Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics. 1989, 8 (3) pp. 225‑39.