Re: Which is the better nootropic?

Anders Sandberg (nv91-asa@nada.kth.se)
Tue, 26 Nov 1996 10:31:53 +0100 (MET)


On Mon, 25 Nov 1996, Michael Lorrey wrote:

> I am familiar with DHEA, I use it often. What is DMAE?

Dimethylamine cyclohexyl carboxylate fumurate, I think.

I found the following in medline, quite interesting:

Title
Effects of nicotinic dimethylaminoethyl esters on working memory performance of rats in the
radial-arm maze.
Author
Levin ED; Rose JE; Abood L
Address
Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
Source
Pharmacol Biochem Behav, 51: 2-3, 1995 Jun-Jul, 369-73
Abstract
Nicotine has been found to improve memory performance in a variety of tests, including the
radial-arm maze. This improvement, together with the consistent finding of a decline in
cortical nicotinic receptor concentration in Alzheimer's patients, has fueled the search for
novel nicotinic ligands with therapeutic potential. In the current studies, a series of
nicotinic compounds was tested for effects on working memory performance in the
radial-arm maze. One of the three compounds tested, DMAE II (dimethylaminoethanol
cyclohexyl carboxylate fumurate), produced significant improvements in working memory
performance. In the first experiment, this drug produced a biphasic dose-response curve
with improved performance at the 20-mg/kg dose but not at 10 or 40 mg/kg. In a second
round of DMAE II administration, the same rats showed a significant improvement with the
40-mg/kg dose. In the second experiment, a new set of rats also showed a biphasic
dose-response to DMAE II. The 20-mg/kg dose caused a significant improvement whereas
the 40-mg/kg dose did not. Interactions of DMAE II with nicotine and mecamylamine were
also studied. Nicotine (0.2 mg/kg) by itself caused a significant improvement in working
memory performance. No additive effects of DMAE II with nicotine were seen. In fact, some
attenuation of response was seen with the combination. Choice accuracy data for
mecamylamine could not be analyzed because of excessive sedation and nonresponding.
These studies show that, like nicotine, the nicotinic ligand DMAE II causes an improvement
in radial-arm mace choice accuracy. The lack of additivity with nicotine may have been to
the partial agonist effects of DMAE II.
Language of Publication
English
Unique Identifier
95396861

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