Brian Alldredge
The BBC hailed it as a "
memory pill" for the forgetful. But unlike some other headlines heavy with hype, UCSF School of Pharmacy brain drug expert Brian Alldredge thinks this one might be worth its weight.
The class of drugs called ampakines (of which CX717 is one example) is an exciting class of drugs that shows promise for memory enhancement," he says.
Although the results of the research are hopeful, it is too soon, Alldredge believes, to know if the drug would ever work in healthy volunteers. "These types of drugs might find their initial utility in persons with existing memory disorders (e.g. the elderly and people taking other medications)."
Moreover, the approval of memory enhancing drugs for the general population is what Alldredge calls a "big leap."
"To my knowledge, no drug has ever sought such an approval status from the FDA and I would expect that the regulatory hurdles would be significant," he adds.
Read the BBC story
here.
