Scientists of Sleep Research Centre, University of Surrey, UK, had developed a new drug that will boost mental alertness without any over
Scientists of Sleep Research Centre, University of Surrey, UK, had developed a new drug that will boost mental alertness without any over stimulations.
The new drug is made of a compound called CX717, and it is a member of a new class of drugs called ampakines. This drug had showed effectiveness in increasing memeory, alertness, increasing the reaction time and problm solving skills of healthy people who sleep less.The drug was given to 16 healthy people at a randomly assigned doses of 100mg, 300mg, and 1000mg. They were tested for total 27 hours after the administartion of the drug through EEG measures and a set of tests deigned to test mental alertness. Tests were taken later to confirm results as well.
Results of the test showed that performance increased after the medication and continued to increase with more doses of medication.
The new drugworks by binding to receptors in the brain called AMPA-type glutamate receptors. These activate the function of a neurotransmitter called glutamate and enhances the memeory. Because the drug effect only lasts for hours, they have relatively less side effects.
The results of the drug test were published in the journal New Scientist.
