Comment · Mon, April 29, 2013 · Ceretropic
"I continue to discourage personal use until the drug is proved to be safe." - Fulvio Gualtieri, former researcher on sunifiram.
Original post in this thread
shrillthrill · 62 points
Just a reminder that not everything labelled nootropic has been demonstrated safe in humans, despite it being available to buy from NSN.
What they were answering
Direct reply to the original post — see the thread post above.
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · Ceretropic
>The amelioration of memory processes induced by unifiram and sunifiram is obtained
without any induction of side effects. Both compounds, at the highest effective doses, did
not impair motor coordination, as revealed by the rota-rod test, nor modify spontaneous
motility, as indicated by the Animex apparatus and the hole board test. Furthermore,
unifiram and sunifiram, **at a dose 1000-times higher than the minimal effective dose, are
still devoid of any alteration of behavioral parameters.**
>In conclusion, unifiram and sunifiram represent new antiamnesic and procognitive
compounds, which can be supposed to belong to the class of nootropic drugs. As a matter
of fact, these compounds show not only a chemical structure similarity with piracetam
(30), but they also exhibit a pharmacological profile comparable to that of nootropics.
Unifiram and sunifiram are endowed with the main pharmacological properties of pirace-
tam-like compounds: facilitation of memory processes, **lack of toxicity and side effects,
and lack of affinity towards the most important central receptors**. However, unifiram and
sunifiram differ from nootropics in their potency. Even if they exert the same pharmaco-
logical effects, unifiram and sunifiram are at least 1000 times more potent than the most
active nootropic drugs, such as oxiracetam, nefiracetam, etiracetam, aniracetam (19).
These observations lead to consideration of unifiram and sunifiram as promising com-
pounds for the treatment of human cognitive deficits.
It has been shown to be completely nontoxic in all studies. It's achieves it's effects via modulation of the NMDA receptors via the glycine binding site. This means that it is similar to nefiracetam, without the risk of damage via toxic metabolites, and at a much lower dosage.
>In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that sunifiram ameliorates cognitive deficits in OBX mice and it enhances LTP induction via a glycine-binding site of NMDAR activity. The
enhancement of LTP by sunifiram increased CaMKII and PKC activities in the CA1.
Of course Fulvio Gualtieri is going to publically discourage use of his drug that has not undergone phase 3 human trials. However, that does not mean there is any evidence that it's dangerous in any way. In fact, all studies show that it is completely nontoxic and safe. I'm glad that many of us are extra cautious of these substances. However, the wheels of change move slowly with the FDA. As long as we have good evidence for a substance's safety profile, I don't think we need to take a total hard-line approach to it's use.