Would dementia drugs be helpful/safe in healthy people who wanted a to boost memory?

Question

I was wondering whether drugs such as galantamine (Reminyl) are safe in healthy patients who are not suffering from dementia, and whether they can be of benefit as a nootropic.

Answer 1

No... and you should never take drugs that are not prescribed for you.

Answer 2

Are you a medical student trying to get an 'A'? :)

Either way if your neurons are working normally, how could your brain tolerate this new wonder drug without some side-effects that aren't expected? What if you fry your neurons trying? [[You'd end up brain damaged/suffer fits/some other movement disorder due to the process of trying to be ''smarter'']]!

Kind of Ironic....when you then end up WITH DEMENTIA, by taking drugs that try and treat it. Stranger things have happened.....

Be careful. I have a brain illness. It's screwed my memory, my ability to spell & remember words and my life, and yet I cope -because I didn't CAUSE my cognitive dysfunction.

What if I had? What if I'd taken the drugs you asked about and ended up screwed when months before I was fine and had a life/friends/career/could play sports/travel?

Then I'd spend the rest of my life regretting that decision to play God.

Be careful captain!

Answer 3

There effects even on dementia are pretty shaky at best, which is why there use is still somewhat controversial and NICE has tries to suggest that they should not be used at all, as they are not cost effective. There potential, though very marginal, effects on the progress of Alzheimer's has however made their total withdrawal virtually impossible, for political, rather than medical reasons.

Answer 4

Below are some tips on improving your memory. Believe me it works. Good luck.

Positive expectation. Believe that you have a good memory. If you believe you have a poor memory and you can't remember anything, your mind will do everything to prove you right. It is better to think that your memory is basically good. When you learn better memory techniques, you will have a better memory. The reason that someone you know has a better memory is that he or she, knowingly or automatically, is using better memory techniques.

Interest and importance: Recall of a particular event or detail depends on the interest we take and the importance we assign to that detail or event, at the time when it is taking place. We remember so much more about people, places, and topics which fascinate us. When you are greatly interested in a subject, you pay close attention and your brain releases chemicals to form deeper "imprints" on the cells that store memory. Those can literally become "long lasting impressions. "

Pay attention: If you want to recall something, pay close attention to it at the time. The problem may not be memory, the problem may be one of attention. People who have a good memory, pay close attention to events as they happen. Also, you may well know that the level of interest and importance we assign to a person or an event, determines how much attention we are going to pay it at the particular time it is occurring.

Memory is an active process. The more active attention you pay, the more details you observe, the more you think, reason, and comprehend, the more associations you make of what you know with what you are trying to learn, the more you will retain and be able to recall, later on. Good memory is a state of the active mind.

Visualize yourself teaching the material. An effective way to enhance recall and understanding of dense material is to teach it to an imaginary audience. By doing so, you are forced to organize the material in a way that makes sense to you and to anticipate potential questions that may be asked by your students. Moreover, by articulating your lecture aloud, you will uncover gaps in your comprehension (and recall) of the material. (Far better to discover those "weak" areas before a test than during it.) After you have mastered a particular section from your textbook, try delivering an organized lecture on any topic from that section. Then check for accuracy. Don't forget to anticipate questions that students might ask about the material as a way of anticipating potential test questions.

A relaxed mind helps memory: Learn with a relaxed mind. Recall the learned material with a relaxed mind. Let's take as an example a situation where you misplace your car keys. If you get too agitated with yourself in trying to recall something, as is the case in this example, you are in for frustration. But, if you relax your mind, and calmly go through the events backward, you are more likely to remember where you left them.

Reduce anxiety. While mild anxiety can increase interest and attention, high anxiety can impair attention and concentration, and therefore, limit the recall of learned material. That is why, if we are too anxious during a test, we forget what we earlier knew very well. Actually, your memory is okay but anxiety is interfering with it. Management of test anxiety has helped many students in their test performance.

Monitor depression. Depression can impair the interest and joy in the events surroundings us. As a result, too little energy is left to recall anything. Some depressed persons become more anxious and depressed thinking, "I have lost my mind. " Once depression is treated, memory as a general rule, returns to the normal.

See a physician. Work with your physician to find a supplemental regimen that helps improve your cognitive capabilities. Memory-enhancing supplements and herbs include B-complex vitamins, magnesium, CoQ10, alpha-lipoic acid, fish oil, flax seed oil, Chinese club moss, ginkgo, and ginseng. A supplement that has been well-documented in Europe for reversing age-related dementia and memory loss is phosphatidylserine (PS), a compound made by the body from the amino acid serine. Taken in supplement form, PS lowers stress response and promotes the release of neurotransmitters in the brain that facilitate thought, reasoning, and concentration.

Answer 5

Do not do that. Only take medication prescribed for you because the doctor would be taking into account your history to know if something is safe for you or not.

Answer 6

No, of course not. These drugs have been painstakingly developed for people with serious problems, not for people hoping to boost their mental performance. Anyone deciding to go down this route seriously risks messing their brain up permanently.