The Medicines to improve memory The most used are donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine, memantine, tacrine, phosphatidylserine and others that I will mention below.
Due to the aging and increasing life expectancy of society, more and more people are suffering from conditions in their Cognitive abilities , Especially in memory.
This fact together with the greater knowledge that is possessed today on the Insane processes , The neuronal functioning and the brain regions involved with the memory processes, has allowed the research and the design of drugs that allow to improve this type of abilities.
Medications and memory
Medications that improve memory function in the brain with the aim of solving or mitigate dysfunctions in the different areas that we will discuss further, which can put into question memory processes.
It should be noted that currently the drugs designed for such purposes are in the process of research, so there is no infallible medicine that allows Improve memory Of total form.
However, today there are a number of drugs that, despite not making treatments that allow to improve memory completely, have shown some effectiveness to enhance these skills and provide positive effects in some cases.
The main drugs are:
1- Donepezil
He Donepezil Is a reversible inhibitory drug of the Acetylcholinesterase , An enzyme that is responsible for the hydrolysis of a neurotransmitter known as Acetylcholine .
In this way, when consuming this drug increases the amounts of acetylcholine in the cerebral regions.
This medicine is used to treat Alzheimer's dementias in mild to moderate forms.
Donepezil is only used to improve memory, or rather, slow the deterioration of memory in people suffering from Alzheimer's neurodegenerative disease .
Its effectiveness lies in its effect on acetylcholine, one of the substances most affected when dementia syndromes appear.
Although this medication does not cure or reverse dementia disorders, they have been shown to be effective in increasing mental functions such as memory, attention and language in individuals with neurodegenerative diseases.
2- Rivastigmine
The Rivastigmine Is another cognitive enhancer that is used as a treatment for dementia syndromes.
It belongs to the same group of drugs as Donepezil, so its mechanism of action also lies in inhibiting acetylcholinesterase and allows to increase the levels of acetylcholine in different regions of the brain.
The increase of this chemical in key areas such as hippocampus , The cerebellum or the different Brain lobes Increases mental functioning and enhances cognitive performance.
Unlike donepezil, rivastigmine is also used as a treatment for Parkinson's disease And is considered a pseudo reversible drug as its brain effects are maintained for much longer.
The effect that Cognitive functions And the memory is moderate and is used only as palliative treatment.
3-Galantamine
It is the last of the selective inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase marketed today, so its mechanism of action coincides with the two drugs discussed above.
It is especially used in patients with Alzheimer's disease, and is probably the most effective of the three.
The Galantamine Allows to increase the amounts of acetylcholine in the cerebral areas that present a greater deficit of this substance in Alzheimer's disease: the nuclei that project from the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex towards the frontal and temporal lobes.
In addition, this drug also improves the effect of acetylcholine on Nicotinic receptors , So it increases the levels of cerebral acetylcholine in abundance and allows to fill some of the deficiencies presented in neurodegenerative diseases.
4- Memantine
The Memantine Is the first of the new class of drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease, and increase cognitive abilities and memory.
This drug acts on the glutamatergic system by blocking NMDA receptors from glutamate .
There is growing evidence that the glutamatergic neurotransmitter contributes to the decrease in amnestic capacity, and this medication is increasingly being used in individuals with dementia.
When memantine is consumed, brain glutamate levels increase, and the symptoms that lead to memory deficit (decrease in cognitive functions and memory) decrease.
These types of drugs are still in the pipeline but they are a very promising solution to increase memory and are already used to treat multiple cases of dementia.
5- Tacrine
The Tacrine Is a cholinesterase inhibitor with a mechanism of action similar to donepezil, rivastigmine and galantamine.
In fact, this drug was the first cholinesterase inhibitor used to improve cognitive symptoms (memory, attention, reasoning, etc.) in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
In addition, tacrine also appears to act as a blocker for Ionic channels of potassium , Which allows to increase the release of new amounts of acetylcholine by the functional cholinergic neurons and, therefore, to further improve memory.
In spite of the cerebral benefits that it contributes, this drug was withdrawn of the market due to its elevated Hepatotoxicity , Which led to the design of new drugs that would inhibit cholinesterase without being toxic to the human body.
6- Phosphatidylserine
The Phosphatidylserine Is a component of the Phospholipids Which is maintained in the inner lipid layer of the cell membranes thanks to an enzyme called Flipase .
In this way, the consumption of this substance allows to increase the amount of fat generated by the brain, maintaining the cell membranes, increasing the growth of the cells and improving the functioning of the brain regions.
It is argued that phosphatidylserine increases memory, concentration and learning ability due to the nutrition it provides over neuronal regions.
In addition, it allows to increase the mood, it diminishes the anxiety, palliate the symptoms of the Parkinson's disease , Reduces seizures in the epilepsy , And improves cognitive functioning in a general way.
However, in spite of the benefits it brings, there is no scientific evidence today that demonstrates its efficacy for the treatment of dementia disorders.
7- Citilcolina
This drug Is a psychostimulant, neuroprotective and nootropic (increases mental performance) that is obtained from the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine from the hill .
This substance has been shown to stimulate phospholipid biosynthesis at the neuronal membrane level and is considered to be the only effective neuroprotective in Acute stages of stroke .
Its mechanism of action is to prevent the degradation of the phospholipids of the choline and to produce a partial reversal of the release of free fatty acids.
In addition, there is some evidence that cythocholine counteracts Beta-amyloid , A protein that plays a very important role in the development of Alzheimer's disease, so that this substance could make a good preventive action for the dementia syndromes.
However, at present this drug is only used to mitigate the cognitive symptoms of Cranio-encephalic trauma , Vascular accidents and cerebral vascular insufficiencies.
8- Piracetam
He Piracetam Is a water-soluble synthetic drug with Nootropic action (Increases mental performance). It is also considered a neuroprotective agent.
The mechanism of action of the drug lies in improving the metabolism of neurons allowing better oxygen uptake.
Ingestion of piracetam stimulates the conversion of Adenosis diphosphate in Adenosine triphosphate , A fact that increases the level of neuronal energy.
Used to intervene Attention and memory disorders , Difficulties in daily activity and adaptation to the environment, and as a palliative treatment for neurodegenerative diseases and cerebral hemorrhages.
9-Acetyl-L-carnitine
This drug allows transport of long chain fatty acids into the mitochondria (one part of the neurons).
The Acetyl-L-carnitine Increases cellular energy by stimulating the reuptake of acetylcholine in mitochondria during the oxidation of fatty acids.
This fact allows to improve the cognitive functions, to stimulate the memory and to increase the capacity of attention and concentration.
In addition to the excess energy it brings, this drug also provides antioxidant activities and prevents the death of neurons.
It has multiple applications such as weight loss, decreased fatigue, treatment of sexual problems and increased memory, concentration and mood.
10- Ginkgo Biloba
The latter substance does not constitute a drug, but deals with extracts from the leaves of the tree Ginkgo biloba , Which contain natural elements that allow the combat of circulatory disorders associated with aging.
It has multiple benefits Such as pain relief and leg heaviness caused by deficits in the circulatory flow of the lower extremities, decreases feelings of dizziness and occasional dizziness, and reduces the symptomatology of the migraine .
It also allows treating venous disorders such as varicose veins or hemorrhoids, and prevents Thromboembolism , arteriosclerosis Y Stroke .
Finally, it strengthens memory and concentration ability by increasing blood flow in the brain regions.
Brain and memory
The study and research of brain regions and chemical structures involved in the amnestic processes has allowed the design of drugs that improve memory in humans.
To know what the Brain regions Or that activities of learning, retention and retrieval of information have led to the initiation of research aimed at the manufacture of medicines for memory.
In fact, at present, the study of memory interventions covers the majority of scientific interest in the field of neurology and Neuropsychology .
The major brain regions that have been linked to memory processes are:
Hippocampus
It consists of a small region located in the temporal lobe of the brain belonging to the limbic system .
It is composed of two main structures, the horn of Ammon and the dentate gyrus, and makes the brain system that performs more memory processes.
It is argued that the hippocampus allows the encoding of information, gives rise to short-term memory, medium-term memory and makes cognitive maps.
Cerebellum
He cerebellum Is a structure located in the back of the brain. It is involved in the codification of complex memories, allows the motor learning and gives rise to the appearance of procedural memories.
Amygdala
This region Is located just below the hippocampus and plays a major role in emotional learning.
Basal ganglia
They are brain nuclei located in the medial temporal lobe that perform basic functions related to learning, cognition and control of motor activities.
Frontal lobe
It constitutes the front part Of the brain performs processes of working memory and attentional processes.
Also, this brain region is responsible for retrieving information stored in the hippocampus, integrates the concepts into categories and plays what is known as prospective memory (ability to remember what we need to do in the future).
Temporal lobe
It is located in the lower part of the brain and is closely related to autobiographical memory.
The damages suffered in this region can deteriorate the Long-term memory And challenge semantic knowledge and episodic memories.
Parietal lobes
This lobe Is located in the uppermost part of the brain, just above the occipital lobe And behind the frontal lobe.
It performs multiple functions, among them the control of attention, the performance of spatial awareness and the development of orientation skills.
Occipital lobe
The latter region is located in the most posterior part of the head, that is, above the nape.
Its main function lies in the visual perception, so it is the first structure to participate in learning all the information that we capture through this sense.
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