The effects of oxiracetam (ISF 2522) in patients with organic brain syndrome (a double‐blind controlled study with piracetam)

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Abstract
Itil, T.M., G.N. Menon, M. Bozak, and A. Songar: The effects of oxiracetam, (ISF 2522) in patients with organic brain syndrome (a double‐blind controlled study with piracetam). Drug Dev. Res. 2:447–461, 1982.In a double‐blind controlled trial, the clinical effects of oxiracetam, a new “nootropic” compound, were investigated in a group of 60 elderly patients with organic mental disorders (DSM‐III). The starting dose of both oxiracetam and the control drug, piracetam, was 400 mg. The dosage was increased by 400 mg at weekly intervals up to 2,400 mg daily (sixth week). During the following 6 weeks the administered dose was fixed at 2,400 mg daily. Most of the important target symptoms improved significantly over time, both subjectively (i.e., rating scales) and objectively (i.e., psychological tests), after administration of either oxiracetam or piracetam. In comparison to piracetam, oxiracetam exhibited more statistically significant improvement in the memory factor, whereas piracetam showed more improvement than oxiracetam in factors of paranoid ideation and agitation. Both drugs were tolerable and did not elicit any significant side effects. It was postulated that “nootropics” may represent a new group of CNS effective compounds, and thus be a “second generation” of psychotropics, which have more direct effects on the central target organs than are presently found in the “classical” psychotropics.