nootropics & friends

Researchers have synthesized enhanced vitamin K analogues that outperform natural vitamin K in promoting neuron growth. The new compounds, which combine vitamin K with retinoic acid, activate the mGluR1 receptor to drive neurogenesis. They also efficiently cross the blood-brain barrier and show stability in vivo.

Archive article: https://archive.ph/fWqbL

TLDR: Middle-aged rats who were given varying doses of β-hydroxy β-methylbutyrate (HMB), a metabolite of the essential amino acid leucine showed improvements in memory.

However the doses are ridiculously high IMO: 225 (low), 450 (medium), and 900 (high) mg/kg body weight/day.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/32461703

cross-posted from: https://rss.ponder.cat/post/221468

From Scientific American via this RSS feed

cross-posted from: https://metawire.eu/post/105642

A study found that people who had suffered the herpes virus had an 80% increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Our findings revealed AlCl3 exposure induced significant neurobehavioral deficits, oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and loss of the Purkinje cell layer of the cerebellum. Treatment with apigenin attenuated neuroinflammation and enhanced learning and memory with significant improvement in recognition index.

Scripps Research scientists created a stable form of carnosic acid, observing greater memory function and other disease improvements in mice.

Researchers at the University of Reading tested participants who ate a walnut-enriched breakfast and found significant cognitive benefits compared to a nut-free meal. The study highlights the potential of walnuts as a natural brain enhancer, but more research is needed to fully understand their impact.

Seven days after their splurge had ended, the junk-food group had lower brain activity in two regions associated with memory and response to visual food cues.

Now, a new study that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 77th Annual Meeting in early April 2025 provides further evidence of a link between more exercise with less risk of developing certain neuropsychiatric diseases.

New research suggests that certain antidepressants can accelerate cognitive decline in people with dementia. At the same time, some drugs appear to be less harmful than others, which can help doctors make better treatment decisions, according to the study.

A new study suggests that omega-3 and vitamin D supplements, when combined with regular exercise, may help slow biological aging by several months over a 3-year period.

Researchers analysed data from the DO-HEALTH trial, which tracked over 700 older adults and found that those who followed this regimen experienced measurable benefits at the molecular level.

The researchers said that even though the effects might seem small, they could still make a big difference for public health — helping to lower the risk of age-related health issues and improving the well-being of older adults.

• The primary finding of this analysis is that resistance training significantly improved brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) among older adults aged 60 years or more. • The effects of resistance training on BDNF levels were significant regardless of intervention duration or gender. However, the effects were more pronounced in older adults with poor health. • Resistance training caused improvements in depressive symptoms in older adults.

Saw this new supplement carried by Cosmic. Big fan of bromantane so was curious when I saw this being compared to it. The reviews of all though seem to imply that it’s being used for workouts when I’m more interested in the anxiolytic affect, fatigue reduction, and focus.

Nootropics Depot

Tiger Milk | Could It Be The New Lion's Mane? | This Rare Malaysian Mushroom Is Finally On The Prowl

Tiger Milk Mushroom is highly sought after for its respiratory and cognitive benefits. Learn about this fabled mushroom and our new mushroom research in this month’s podcast episode!

Buy Tiger Milk Mushroom from Nootropics Depot https://nootropicsdepot.com/tiger-mil...

On this episode of ‘In Search of Insight’ (episode #21), we explore Lignosus rhinocerus, better known as the tiger milk mushroom. Tiger Milk is a newcomer to the functional mushroom scene, and up until recently has been extremely rare. Traditional knowledge about tiger milk mushroom comes from Malaysia, where the indigenous population has been using this mushroom for hundreds of years. Its rarity is due to the fact that tiger milk mushrooms do not tend to grow close to each other in the wild. According to traditional knowledge, the tiger milk mushrooms seem to grow many kilometers apart from each other. This makes gathering sufficient amounts of tiger milk mushroom in the wild extremely difficult! The logical answer is to cultivate the tiger milk mushroom.

A little over a decade ago, Dr. Tan Chon Seng made major advances in the cultivation of tiger milk mushroom. Once a viable cultivation method was scaled up for production, research on tiger milk mushroom started to boom. For the first time in history, researchers had access to sufficient quantities of tiger milk mushroom. In a short period of time, there are fully fledged human clinical trials coming out about the unique respiratory effects of tiger milk mushroom!

Despite cultivation and research in the last decade, there are still plenty of knowledge gaps. Within the United States, there wasn’t a botanical reference material (BRM) that could be used to verify whether a tiger milk mushroom product is Lignosus rhinoceros. We needed to get our own BRM made for tiger milk mushroom. This project was undertaken by our lab director, James Jursich (Jay)! With this in mind, and the hard work Jay put into this project, we thought it would be interesting to have Jay as a guest on our podcast.

We are the first major U.S. functional mushroom vendor to come out with a very high quality tiger milk mushroom product, and are sure to make waves in the functional mushroom space! Tune into this episode to find out why we are over the moon about this unique mushroom!

Courtesy of /u/wefashionnow

After recently purchasing some Gotu Kola, I came across studies linking ingestion to decreased testosterone and decreased sperm motility.

The studies can be viewed here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20589353, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21870191

Unfortunately, the full texts are behind a pay wall. I'm trying to determine if these studies actually demonstrate a very real problem with Gotu Kola, or if it's simply alarmist. One thing to consider is the high 100+mg/kg dosage used in the first study. Comparatively, humans take below 50mg/kg.

Thoughts on Gotu Kola? Is it safe?

*** Some Comments ***

• Again, anecdotal, but Gotu Kola seems to stimulate skin regeneration for me (scars and blemishes seem to go away more quickly when taking it). I take it for my acne.

  • That's interesting. Do you have any references for gotu kola helping with scars?

    • http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/gotu-kola Edit: in that reference they seem to recommend topical application to treat scars and wounds, while I ingest it. I don't know what the bio-availability is for the triterpenoids when ingested, but again, it works for me.

• It works extremely well for me, I use tulsi + gotu kola. Tolerance develops pretty quickly but it is very reliable anxiolytic if I don't have it all the time.

• Ashwagandha might help mitigate the anti-androgenic effects. Traditionally, they are often taken together. You may need more research.

  • Holy basil (usually also taken together) can also be used to increase testosterone