Racetam research medicine · Fact sheet
Oxiracetam
Also known as CGP 21690E
Oxiracetam is a racetam studied in older dementia and epilepsy trials. Some dementia scales improved, while a memory-impaired epilepsy trial found no meaningful benefit. Healthy-person enhancement is not established.
What is Oxiracetam?
Different racetams are separate molecules with different study histories.
Oxiracetam and its isolated S-enantiomer are not automatically interchangeable evidence.
Benefits & claims
Readers encounter Oxiracetam in discussions of cognition, mood or mental fatigue. The relevant study population and outcome determine whether those claims are supported.
What the evidence supports
- A larger dementia trial favored oxiracetam on selected scales over 12 weeks.
- A 30-person epilepsy study found no meaningful memory change and no corresponding subjective improvement.
- Population-specific findings cannot establish a general cognitive-enhancement effect.
Research areas
- Cognition and memory
- Neurologic or psychiatric research
Dosage & frequency
Human study contextThe original human study supplies an exposure reference, not an established cognitive-enhancement regimen.
1989 multicenter dementia study
Patients with primary degenerative, multi-infarct or mixed dementia; mean analyzed age 73 years
- Amount
- 800 mg tablet
- Frequency
- Twice daily for 12 weeks
- Route studied or labeled
- Oral
Historical disease-specific trial. Selected scale improvements do not establish prevention of dementia or benefit in healthy adults.
How to read these amounts
An approved regimen belongs to a specific product, indication, and population. A study regimen describes what researchers tested; it does not establish a prescription or a safe self-use protocol. Products, routes, and formulations are not interchangeable. A prescriber uses the full label and individual clinical circumstances.
Personal accounts may describe amounts, schedules and outcomes beyond clinical research. They do not establish a regimen. Read the reported experiences
Formulations, interactions & practical context
- Identity and pharmacology
- Different racetams are separate molecules with different study histories.
Formulation differences
- Oxiracetam and its isolated S-enantiomer are not automatically interchangeable evidence.
Interactions & precautions
- The reviewed sources do not establish a comprehensive human interaction profile for this exact substance or combination.
What is still unresolved
- Reproducible benefit on everyday function in the intended population
- Long-term safety and clinically important interactions
- Equivalence of nonstandard products to research formulations
Side effects & risks
- Minor unwanted effects occurred in both groups of the larger dementia trial, and some participants stopped for poor tolerability.
- Long-term safety, uncommon harms and effects with other neurologic medications require separate evaluation.
This is a summary of the cited evidence, not a complete product label. A lack of human safety data does not establish safety.
Clinical research
Early human evidenceHistorical controlled trials report mixed findings across populations. Symptom scales and small neuropsychological studies do not establish disease modification.
Studies
307 enrolled dementia patients; 289 analyzed over 12 weeks.
30-person epilepsy memory study; no meaningful improvement.
65-person placebo-controlled dementia study.
Personal experiences
Reports describe what someone noticed. They cannot establish cause, typical results, or how often a side effect happens. Amounts and schedules describe the individual account, not an effective or safe dose. Product identity and strength may be unverified, and missing details are left explicit.
No attributable personal accounts were found in the sources reviewed.
Approval status
Oxiracetam is not an FDA-approved treatment for the cognitive or mood uses discussed here. Regional use, historical trials and online availability are separate from U.S. drug approval.
No FDA-approved product for this entry
Approval covers the labeled product, use and population. A trial phase does not establish success; a stopped program is not ongoing research.
- Oxiracetam in the treatment of primary degenerative and multi-infarct dementia: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
- Double-blind placebo-controlled, neuropsychological and neurophysiological investigations with oxiracetam (CGP 21690E) in memory-impaired patients with epilepsy.
- Oxiracetam in dementia: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
- FDA warning letter: unapproved nootropic claims
Open questions
- Reproducible benefit on everyday function in the intended population
- Long-term safety and clinically important interactions
- Equivalence of nonstandard products to research formulations
Summary
Population-specific findings cannot establish a general cognitive-enhancement effect.
Sources
Medical evidence and regulatory sources are listed here. Personal reports are linked separately in the experiences section.
- pubmedOxiracetam in the treatment of primary degenerative and multi-infarct dementia: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
307 enrolled dementia patients; 289 analyzed over 12 weeks.
- pubmedDouble-blind placebo-controlled, neuropsychological and neurophysiological investigations with oxiracetam (CGP 21690E) in memory-impaired patients with epilepsy.
30-person epilepsy memory study; no meaningful improvement.
- pubmedOxiracetam in dementia: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
65-person placebo-controlled dementia study.
- fdaFDA warning letter: unapproved nootropic claims
FDA identifies unapproved drug claims for named nootropics; this is an enforcement letter, not efficacy evidence.