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Diet Pill 'Made Children Smart'

akaWiintermoon

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From AOL News:

Diet pill 'made children smart'

Four children whose brains and mental abilities were suddenly transformed after they took a simple dietary supplement have astonished scientists.

Scans showed their brains underwent three years' of development in just three months.

At the same time they displayed remarkable improvements in tests of reading, concentration, problem-solving and memory.

One boy who previously scorned books and was hooked on TV developed a love of reading and declared he was "bored" of television.

The three boys and one girl, aged between eight and 13, were taking part in a pilot study looking at the effects of diet on developing young brains.

Scientists believe the results are powerful evidence of the harm "junk food" is doing to Britain's children.

The children were given a supplement called VegEPA, which contains a combination of omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids, and encouraged to cut down on fatty snacks and fizzy drinks and be more active. At the end, they underwent brain scans at St Georges Hospital, London, in a machine that can detect a key biochemical indicator of brain development called NAA (N-Acetylaspartate).

Higher levels of NAA correspond to more nerve fibres growing in the brain..

Professor Basant Puri, from Imperial College London, who led the study, said: "The results were astonishing. In three months you might expect to see a small NAA increase. But we saw as much growth as you would normally see in three years.

"It was as if these were the brains of children three years older. It means you have more connections and greater density of nerve cells, in the same way that a tree grows more branches."
 
Drugs may boost your brain power.

The government is assessing the impact of a new generation of drugs that are claimed to make people more intelligent.
The Department of Health has asked the Academy of Medical Sciences to assess these so-called "cognition enhancing" drugs, some of which are already being widely used in the US.

In the 1960s the self styled guru, Dr Timothy Leary, urged American youth to "tune in, turn on and drop out".

Now a new generation of so-called designer drugs are becoming available.

But instead of fuelling a new drop-out culture, they are being used by people who think they will help them do better at school and work.

One of these drugs, Modafinil, was developed to treat people who involuntarily fall asleep.
Link


Also tonight on BBC Radio 4 (and available on 'Listen Again' after the airing)...

The Defeat of Sleep
Monday 16 April 2007 21:00-21:30

BBC Science Correspondent Pallab Ghosh investigates the potential effects of anti-sleep drugs on society. Modafinil is a drug designed to treat narcolepsy, but in the US it is used by long-distance truckers, hard-partying students, taxi drivers and particularly the military, keeping soldiers and aircrews alert on long and dangerous missions. Scientists fear that sleep deprivation will have long-term neurological and cardiovascular effects.

EDIT - Listen Again now active till the 23rd of April 2007.
 
All diet pills did for me was a mild up buzz, a headache and a queasy stomach.
 
I tried some of these 'smart' drugs (e.g. hydergine) myself about 10 years ago, but I didn't notice myself getting any cleverer. Mind you, I think you have to use them for a long time before the effects can be noticed.
 
I've tried a few over the years but have seen no noticeable effects. In fact, some induced brain fog, the opposite of the intended effect. There is a class of substances call racetams that sound interesting but I've never had access to try them. In any event, none sound like anything other than a temporary boost.
 
Sure! Will let you know. I bought a few different samples to try. I have already noticed an immediate impact with 2 of them in terms of focus but I am really looking for some improvement in memory and information recall. Getting up in age a bit and want to stay afloat!
 
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