CoastWatcher
Moderator
About ten years ago, reports about the use of so-called smart drugs (Cognitive Enhancing Drugs) were found in the popular and general media. Methylphenidate, a stimulant used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and modafinil, a wakefulness drug used by narcoleptics, those suffering from sleep apnea, and shift workers, became very popular in the general population. One no longer reads stories about such drugs in the popular press, but they remain very popular.
According to an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, nearly 20% of German surgeons surveyed admitted to using a drug to enhance cognition. Another study found that over 60% of undergraduates at the University of Maryland had been offered prescription stimulants and 30% had used them. Meanwhile, the efficacy of these drugs seems to be supported by a placebo-controlled study that studied the use of these drugs in ranked, German, chess players.
"We have no long-term studies in healthy people," Dr. Barbara Sahakian of Cambridge University noted. According to JAMA, nearly 90% of patients receiving prescriptions for modafinil were using them for an off-label diagnosis.
http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...mapublishaheadofprint&utm_campaign=16-08-2017
According to an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, nearly 20% of German surgeons surveyed admitted to using a drug to enhance cognition. Another study found that over 60% of undergraduates at the University of Maryland had been offered prescription stimulants and 30% had used them. Meanwhile, the efficacy of these drugs seems to be supported by a placebo-controlled study that studied the use of these drugs in ranked, German, chess players.
"We have no long-term studies in healthy people," Dr. Barbara Sahakian of Cambridge University noted. According to JAMA, nearly 90% of patients receiving prescriptions for modafinil were using them for an off-label diagnosis.
http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...mapublishaheadofprint&utm_campaign=16-08-2017
