Piracetam combined with lecithin in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Nootropics, a new class of drugs believed to activate mental functions, have been proposed as a treatment for clinical disorders in which cognition is impaired. We therefore administered the nootropic drug piracetam, alone and in combination with phosphatidylcholine (PC), to 18 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and measured the effects of treatment on a broad range of cognitive functions. Piracetam was administered according to three double-blind crossover protocols and a replication study that differed in piracetam dose (2.4 to 9.9 g/day) and whether PC (18 g/day) was administered concurrently. The drug was well tolerated, and there were not toxic side effects. Plasma choline levels rose significantly during piracetam and PC administration; monoamine metabolites in cerebrospinal fluid were unaffected by treatment. Piracetam, either alone or in combination with PC, did not significantly affect cognition in the AD group as a whole, nor did it improve test performance in any single patient.