Brain
Does it make your memory better?
Cognitive tests in people. Be careful here: a trial in Alzheimer's patients says nothing about a healthy forty-year-old, and this page will tell you which population was tested.
6,839
people in trials
36
human studies
23
compounds, animal or cell only
11
trials found nothing
Measured in people
Ranked by how many people, which is a fact about the evidence and not a judgement about the compound. The one at the top is the most studied, which is not the same as the best. Counts are never added across compounds, because the same person can appear in more than one trial.
- 3,808 people1 human study
3,808 participants with amyloid-confirmed early Alzheimer's disease across 566 sites: oral semaglutide did not slow decline on the CDR-SB primary endpoint at week 104 and both trials were discontinued for negative clinical outcome.
The Lancet, 2026 · 3,808 people
What people using it report
- The effect people describe valuing most is appetite and food preoccupation falling away rather than the number on the scale, and it is frequently described in terms of no longer having to spend attention on food.
- 833 people1 human study
833 community-dwelling older adults: 515 urban from the 3C-Bordeaux cohort and 318 rural from the AMI cohort, with plasma CCL11 by immunoassay and Mini-Mental State Examination as the cognitive measure. CCL11 was higher in rural dwellers, median 145 pg/mL (IQR 115 to 201) versus 103 pg/mL (IQR 85 to 129), p < 0.001. After adjustment, CCL11 was negatively associated with cognitive performance in rural dwellers but not in urban dwellers. Cross-sectional, so direction of effect cannot be established.
Experimental Gerontology, 2018 · 833 people
Also measured, in animals or cells
Mouse, with a human measurement component. Heterochronic parabiosis showed that an old systemic environment or plasma from old mice decreased synaptic plasticity and impaired contextual fear conditioning and spatial learning in young mice. CCL11 was identified as a chemokine whose plasma levels correlated with reduced neurogenesis, and which is increased in the plasma and cerebrospinal fluid of healthy ageing humans. Increasing peripheral CCL11 in young mice decreased neurogenesis and impaired learning and memory. NIH funded.
Nature, 2011 · animal
- 536 people1 human study1 found nothing
found nothing536 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease, one year, multicentre, double blind, randomised, idebenone 120, 240 or 360 mg three times daily versus placebo. No significant differences between groups on either primary outcome, ADAS-Cog and Clinical Global Impression of Change, in the prespecified four-group design, and no differences on any secondary outcome. This is the trial that tests the nootropic claim, and it is negative.
Neurology, 2003 · 536 people
- 347 people2 human studies1 found nothing
found nothing347 patients randomised 1:1:1:1 from 496 screened into three plasma exchange arms with different albumin and immunoglobulin replacement doses or sham, with six weeks of weekly conventional exchange then twelve months of monthly low-volume exchange. At month 14, treated patients had 52 percent less decline on activities of daily living (p = 0.03) and 66 percent less decline on the cognitive scale (p = 0.06, not significant). Moderate-disease patients improved on both; mild-disease patients did not change. Funded by Instituto Grifols, which manufactures the albumin used.
Alzheimer's and Dementia, 2020 · 347 people
Secondary analysis of the AMBAR randomised trial reporting the neuropsychological, neuropsychiatric and quality-of-life measures alongside the primary cognitive and functional endpoints.
Alzheimer's and Dementia, 2022 · no headcount in the line
- 290 people1 human study1 found nothing
found nothing24-week Phase 2 RCT in 290 children: no significant difference from placebo on social withdrawal (least-squares mean difference minus 0.2) or secondary social and cognitive measures.
New England Journal of Medicine, 2021 · 290 people
- 152 people1 human study
152 adults aged 55 to 87 (66 with MCI): 20 weeks of tesamorelin 1 mg daily had a favorable effect on cognition (P=.03), mainly executive function, and raised IGF-1 117% within the physiological range.
Archives of Neurology, 2012 · 152 people
- 152 people1 human study
152 participants with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease, 90 days. AC-1202 significantly raised serum beta-hydroxybutyrate two hours after dosing. In the intention-to-treat population the ADAS-Cog difference from placebo at day 45 was 1.9 points (p equals 0.0235). The effect was concentrated in the 55 participants not carrying the APOE4 allele, where the difference was 4.77 points at day 45 and 3.36 points at day 90. Adverse events, mainly gastrointestinal, were more frequent on treatment.
Nutrition and Metabolism, 2009 · 152 people
- 152 people1 human study
152 adults aged 55 to 87, of whom 66 had mild cognitive impairment. Twenty weeks of tesamorelin at 1 mg daily had a favourable effect on cognition, P equal to 0.03, concentrated in executive function, and raised IGF-1 by 117 percent within the physiological range. Note the dose: 1 mg, which is half the dose that produced the visceral fat result, and this trial did not measure visceral fat.
Archives of Neurology, 2012 · 152 people
- 125 people2 human studies1 found nothing
found nothingThe longest resveratrol trial published: 125 postmenopausal women aged 45 to 85, 75 mg twice daily for 12 months then crossover for 12 months. Overall cognitive performance improved 33% versus placebo, though the effect size was small (Cohen's d = 0.170, p = 0.005). Resting cerebral blood flow velocity (d = 0.275, p = 0.001), fasting insulin and insulin resistance index also improved. A 2025 meta-analysis of 10 trials in 928 postmenopausal women found no significant effect on cognition or memory, so this result is not settled.
Clinical Nutrition, 2021 · 125 people
Twenty-two healthy adults, single doses of 250 and 500 mg. Frontal cortex blood flow during cognitive tasks rose dose-dependently by near-infrared spectroscopy, with increased deoxyhaemoglobin suggesting greater oxygen extraction. Cognitive performance itself was not affected. Resveratrol metabolites, not much parent compound, were what circulated during the task.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2010 · no headcount in the line
What people using it report
- Reported interest skews toward biomarkers people cannot feel rather than subjective sensation: posters more often describe checking bloodwork such as lipids, glucose or CRP than describing an energy, mood or cognitive change they noticed day to day.
- 123 people1 human study
123 participants, roughly half vegetarian. The trial reports no cognitive benefit, with more side effects in the creatine arm than placebo.
BMC Medicine, 2023 · 123 people
- 106 people3 human studies
61 community-dwelling older adults with mild cognitive impairment randomised to subtherapeutic lithium (0.25 to 0.5 mEq/L) or placebo for 2 years double blind, followed a further 24 months single blind. The placebo group declined cognitively and functionally while the lithium group remained stable; lithium was associated with better memory and attention at 24 months and a significant rise in cerebrospinal fluid amyloid-beta 42 at 36 months. Same registration, NCT01055392.
British Journal of Psychiatry, 2019 · 61 people
45 participants with amnestic mild cognitive impairment randomised to lithium (titrated to 0.25 to 0.5 mmol/L serum, a subtherapeutic range) or placebo for 12 months. Lithium significantly lowered cerebrospinal fluid phosphorylated tau (p = 0.03) and improved the cognitive subscale of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale and attention tasks. Tolerability was good and adherence 91 percent. Registered as NCT01055392. Note the dose: prescription lithium carbonate monitored by blood level, not a trace-dose supplement.
British Journal of Psychiatry, 2011 · 45 people
The only randomised trial located at a dose comparable to supplement products: 300 micrograms of lithium once daily for 15 months in Alzheimer's disease patients. The treated group showed no decrease in mini mental state examination performance while controls declined, with differences appearing from three months and increasing. A single small study, not replicated, and the report gives limited methodological detail.
Current Alzheimer Research, 2013 · no headcount in the line
Also measured, in animals or cells
Endogenous lithium was the only metal significantly reduced in the brains of individuals with mild cognitive impairment, with bioavailability further reduced in Alzheimer's disease by amyloid sequestration. In mice, reducing cortical lithium by about 50 percent through diet increased amyloid-beta deposition and phospho-tau, activated microglia, caused loss of synapses, axons and myelin, and accelerated cognitive decline, partly through GSK3 beta. Lithium orotate replacement prevented pathology and memory loss in mouse models and ageing wild-type mice. Human post-mortem tissue plus mouse experiments; no human intervention. NIH funded.
Nature, 2025 · animal
- 98 people2 human studies
64 healthy Japanese adults aged 40 to under 80 randomised for 12 weeks, 58 completed. The PQQ group improved against placebo on Cognitrax composite memory, verbal memory, reaction time, complex attention, cognitive flexibility, executive function and motor speed, and on the two secondary scales. No adverse events. Industry authorship and a branded product, and the record carries a published erratum.
Journal of the American Nutrition Association, 2022 · 64 people
34 elderly people with mild cognitive impairment, six weeks. The intervention combined PQQ with hydrogen-producing minerals, so nothing can be attributed to PQQ alone. Serum BDNF, the primary endpoint, rose within the active group (p = 0.01) but the between-group interaction was only a non-significant trend. Cerebral oxygenation rose from 48.4 to 52.8 percent and one ADAS-Cog domain, orientation, showed a significant interaction.
The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging, 2024 · 34 people
- 87 people1 human study1 found nothing
found nothing87 adults aged 16 to 34 with Down's syndrome randomised to EGCG 9 mg/kg per day or placebo, both with cognitive training, for 12 months; 84 analysed. Differences were not significant on 13 of the 15 tests in the trial battery and on 8 of 9 adaptive skills. Significant gains appeared in visual recognition memory (6.23 percentage points), inhibitory control, and the ABAS-II functional academics score (5.49). No difference in adverse effects between groups. Registered as NCT01699711.
Lancet Neurology, 2016 · 87 people
- 30 people1 human study1 found nothing
found nothing30 participants with Alzheimer's disease, 15 per group, given 500 or 1,000 mg twice daily for one month. Both doses were safe and tolerated. The higher dose increased FDG PET glucose uptake across multiple brain regions and raised parietal and frontoparietal glutathione. Blood level changes were not consistent, and cognitive scores did not improve.
Alzheimer's and Dementia, 2021 · 30 people
- no headcount stated2 human studies2 found nothing
found nothing271 diabetic outpatients aged 70 or over with plasma B12 between 150 and 300 pmol per litre took methylcobalamin at 1,000 micrograms daily or placebo for 27 months. Serum methylmalonic acid and homocysteine fell significantly against placebo at months 9 and 27. There was no significant difference in cognitive decline at month 27. The blood marker moved and the outcome did not.
Clinical Nutrition, 2017 · no headcount in the line
found nothing279 outpatients aged 65 or over with mild cognitive impairment and raised homocysteine took methylcobalamin at 500 micrograms plus folic acid, or placebo, for 24 months. Homocysteine fell from 13.9 to 9.3 micromoles per litre. There was no significant difference in cognitive decline at 24 months. A second worked example of the same lesson.
Clinical Nutrition, 2020 · no headcount in the line
- no headcount stated2 human studies
Secondary analysis of the 112 person phase 2 trial. Placebo-adjusted reductions of 8.6 to 10.8 lapses on the Psychomotor Vigilance Task and 15.5 to 22.5 errors on a paired associate learning test across dose groups, with improvements on executive function tests. Adults 18 to 70 only; 8 weeks.
JAMA Neurology, 2026 · no headcount in the line
Using phase 3 data, a reduction of 2 or more attention lapses was derived as a meaningful within-person change. On that threshold, 66.9 percent of oveporexton participants against 25.7 percent on placebo improved in First Light, and 57.6 against 17.6 percent in Radiant Light (both P at or below 0.0001). Sponsor-derived threshold applied to sponsor trials.
Therapeutic Innovation and Regulatory Science, 2026 · no headcount in the line
- no headcount stated1 human study1 found nothing
found nothingWell tolerated; no significant effect on MCCB cognition, with a modest signal on functional capacity (UPSA).
Schizophrenia Research, 2012 · no headcount in the line
- no headcount stated1 human study1 found nothing
found nothing279 outpatients aged 65 or over with mild cognitive impairment and raised homocysteine took methylcobalamin 500 micrograms plus folic acid or placebo for 24 months. Homocysteine fell from 13.9 to 9.3 micromol/L, but there was no significant difference in cognitive decline at 24 months. A concrete example of correcting the blood marker without changing the outcome.
Clinical Nutrition, 2020 · no headcount in the line
- no headcount stated1 human study
24 weeks of GlyNAC in older adults corrected glutathione deficiency and improved strength, gait speed and cognition; benefits faded after stopping.
Clinical and Translational Medicine, 2021 · no headcount in the line
- no headcount stated1 human study
Double-blind placebo-controlled study in 14 early Alzheimer's and 54 early Parkinson's patients. Buntanetap was safe and well tolerated up to 80 mg daily, with statistically significant improvement on ADAS-Cog11 and WAIS coding in the Alzheimer's group. Small and exploratory; this is the study that justified the Phase 3.
Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease, 2023 · no headcount in the line
- no headcount stated1 human study
Connectivity changes; no clinical cognitive outcome.
Brain Imaging and Behavior, 2017 · no headcount in the line
- no headcount stated1 human study
Healthy men and women aged 65 to 85 with body mass index 20 to 35, recruited as either inactive or highly active by a rapid activity assessment score and verified by accelerometry. Circulating GPLD1 was measured from fasting blood at a single clinical visit alongside Mini-Mental State Examination, the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery, and brain MRI and functional MRI. Cross-sectional and observational: it measures association, not effect.
GeroScience, 2025 · no headcount in the line
Also measured, in animals or cells
Mouse, with a human measurement component. Plasma from exercised aged mice transferred the effects of exercise on adult neurogenesis and cognition to sedentary aged mice. Plasma Gpld1, a liver-derived GPI-degrading enzyme, rose after exercise and correlated with improved cognition; increasing systemic Gpld1 in aged mice improved age-related regenerative and cognitive impairments without exercise. Gpld1 concentrations in blood were also increased in active, healthy elderly humans. NIH funded.
Science, 2020 · animal
Mouse. GPI-anchored tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase on the brain vasculature was identified as the Gpld1 substrate mediating cognitive rejuvenation. Mimicking age-related increases in cerebrovascular levels of that enzyme impaired blood-brain transport and cognition in young mice and blunted Gpld1's benefit in aged mice, while inhibiting it restored youthful hippocampal transcriptional signatures and rescued cognition. In an Alzheimer disease model, raising Gpld1 or inhibiting the enzyme reduced amyloid beta pathology and improved cognition.
Cell, 2026 · animal
- no headcount stated1 human study
30 participants, sponsor AgelessRx (a telehealth prescriber), active not recruiting. Arms combine rapamycin 2 to 6 mg weekly, metformin 500 mg daily, low-dose naltrexone, intranasal NAD+, topical glutathione and a proprietary supplement; primary endpoints VO2 max, a cognitive composite and an inflammation index. Cannot isolate either drug. No results posted.
ClinicalTrials.gov, 2025 · no headcount in the line
- no headcount stated1 human study
554 randomised, 544 analysed, across 32 NHS memory clinics, 24 months of 400 mg, 200 mg or placebo. Standardised MMSE decline was 4.1 points in the combined minocycline groups against 4.3 on placebo, a difference of 0.1 points (95 percent CI -1.1 to 1.2, p equals 0.90). Activities of daily living worsened equally. Only 28.8 percent completed the 400 mg arm against 63.7 percent on placebo.
JAMA Neurology, 2020 · no headcount in the line
- no headcount stated1 human study
The controlled test, and it is null. 52 week phase 2 double-blind placebo-controlled trial, single centre, 75 screened and 55 randomised to ambroxol 525 mg a day, 1,050 mg a day or placebo. Comparing high dose with placebo, there was no evidence of differences between groups on primary or secondary outcomes, the primaries being ADAS-Cog-13 and Clinician's Global Impression of Change. Target engagement was confirmed, with glucocerebrosidase higher at week 26 on drug than placebo. Gastrointestinal adverse events were more frequent on ambroxol, 12 percent of events against 5 percent.
JAMA Neurology, 2025 · no headcount in the line
- no headcount stated1 human study
The only human study in this line of work. Open label, no control group, 12 participants with early Alzheimer disease on 300 mg of lamivudine daily. Reported a favourable safety profile, stable cognitive measures, a reduction in cerebrospinal fluid GFAP (P = 0.03) suggesting reduced neuroinflammation, and an elevation in plasma amyloid beta 42 to 40 ratio (P = 0.009). The authors state the results warrant a larger placebo-controlled trial. One author discloses a scientific advisory role with a retrotransposon-focused company.
npj Dementia, 2025 · no headcount in the line
- no headcount stated1 human study1 found nothing
found nothingThe core randomised placebo-controlled record, and the strongest human evidence bromantane has. A randomised blind study in neurasthenia with a wash-out period, 28 days of monotherapy against placebo, and a final week of placebo in all patients. The authors report that ladasten was superior to placebo in the rate and degree of reduction of the main symptoms of asthenic syndrome, and that no withdrawal syndrome appeared after discontinuation. The abstract gives no sample size, no effect size and no p value, and the endpoints are asthenia rating scales, not cognitive tests. Russian language.
Zhurnal Nevrologii i Psikhiatrii Imeni S.S. Korsakova, 2009 · no headcount in the line
- no headcount stated1 human study
A randomised controlled study extending the route: intranasal kisspeptin rapidly stimulated gonadotropin release in humans. Relevant because it establishes that a non-injected route works, and it still measures gonadotropins rather than any behavioural or cognitive outcome.
EBioMedicine, 2025 · no headcount in the line
- no headcount stated1 human study
A second human infusion study, measuring regional blood flow in adipose tissue after a neurotensin analogue. Reported here because it is part of the small set of experiments in which neurotensin was actually given to human beings, and because like the rest of that set it measured peripheral physiology rather than pain or cognition.
Acta Physiologica Scandinavica, 1982 · no headcount in the line
Measured in animals or cells, not yet in people
These are separated from the trials above rather than ranked against them, because they answer a different question. A result in a rat is a real result and a reason somebody ran the study; it is not a measurement of what happens in you. Where the human work is missing, the reason is usually money rather than failure, and that is set out at the bottom of this page.
- 2 preclinical studies
Measured in animals or cells
FGL given after training produced long-lasting memory improvement in rats and promoted synapse formation via FGFR1.
Journal of Neuroscience, 2004 · animal
Systemic FGL reduced amyloid-related pathology and cognitive impairment in a rat model.
Neuroscience, 2007 · animal
- 2 preclinical studies
Measured in animals or cells
Rat. Six epigenetic clocks were developed and validated for rat tissues from 613 tissue samples, with two clocks trained on an additional 1,366 human tissue samples to work across both species. A young porcine plasma fraction treatment more than halved the epigenetic ages of blood, heart and liver tissue in old rats, with a smaller but statistically significant effect in hypothalamus, accompanied by improvements in biochemical, physiological, behavioural and cognitive measures and a shift in immunoglobulin G N-glycosylation from pro- to anti-inflammatory. NIH supported with non-US government funding.
GeroScience, 2024 · animal
Mouse. Human umbilical cord plasma improved hippocampal function and cognition in aged mice, and TIMP2 was identified as a specific blood-borne factor necessary for that benefit. This is the alternative research strategy to whole-fraction dosing: find the molecule.
Nature, 2017 · animal
- 2 preclinical studies
Measured in animals or cells
Mouse. Systemic exposure of aged male mice to a platelet-containing fraction of young mouse plasma decreased hippocampal neuroinflammation at transcriptional and cellular levels and improved hippocampal-dependent cognition. Circulating PF4 was elevated in plasma preparations of young mice and young humans relative to older individuals. Systemic PF4 alone attenuated age-related hippocampal neuroinflammation and improved cognition in aged mice, with CXCR3 identified as partly mediating the effect. NIH funded.
Nature, 2023 · animal
Mouse. PF4 characterised as an exercise-released factor that rejuvenates hippocampal neurogenesis and restores cognitive function in aged mice. One of three independent papers published within a month reaching a convergent conclusion. NIH funded with non-US government support.
Nature Communications, 2023 · animal
- 2 preclinical studies
Measured in animals or cells
Mouse, with human measurement. B2M is elevated in the blood of ageing humans and mice and in the hippocampus of aged mice and young heterochronic parabionts. Exogenous B2M injected systemically or into the hippocampus impaired hippocampal-dependent cognition and neurogenesis in young mice, partly mitigated in mice with reduced cell-surface MHC class I. Absence of endogenous B2M abrogated age-related cognitive decline and enhanced neurogenesis in aged mice. NIH funded.
Nature Medicine, 2015 · animal
Mouse, with human plasma proteomics, in Down syndrome rather than in ageing. Parabiosis and plasma infusion showed blood-borne factors drive synaptic deficits in Down syndrome models. B2M was elevated in human Down syndrome plasma; systemic B2M produced synaptic and memory defects in wild-type mice; genetic deletion or an anti-B2M antibody counteracted the impairments. B2M antagonises NMDA receptor function via the GluN1-S2 loop, and competitive peptides restored receptor-dependent function.
Cell, 2023 · animal
- 2 preclinical studies
Measured in animals or cells
The paper that introduced ISRIB, from a cell-based screen for PERK signalling inhibitors. It reverses the effects of eIF2 alpha phosphorylation with an IC50 of 5 nM, and treated mice showed significant enhancement in spatial and fear-associated learning. The same paper reports that ISRIB reduces the viability of cells under chronic endoplasmic reticulum stress, which is the harm signal hiding in the founding result.
eLife, 2013 · animal
The ageing result, and the only one. ISRIB reversed integrated stress response activation in the aged mouse brain, reversed spatial memory deficits and improved working memory in old mice, and in hippocampus restored intrinsic neuronal electrophysiological properties and spine density while reducing interferon and T cell mediated immune profiles. Memory endpoints, not lifespan or healthspan. Several authors disclose commercial interests in the compound class.
eLife, 2020 · animal
- 1 preclinical study
Measured in animals or cells
Mouse. Using heterochronic parabiosis, blood-borne factors were shown to inhibit or promote adult neurogenesis in an age-dependent way. Exposing a young mouse to an old systemic environment or to plasma from old mice decreased synaptic plasticity and impaired contextual fear conditioning and spatial learning. This is the animal experiment the entire young-plasma industry is built on.
Nature, 2011 · animal
What people using it report
- The conditions FDA names as being marketed for are normal ageing, memory loss, dementia, Parkinson disease, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer disease, heart disease and post-traumatic stress disorder. No approved indication exists for any of them.
- 1 preclinical study
Measured in animals or cells
A single dose of 50 micrograms per kilogram raised hippocampal BDNF protein 1.4-fold, trkB phosphorylation 1.6-fold and BDNF mRNA 3-fold in rats, alongside improved conditioned avoidance learning. Rats, Semax alone, one dose. The mechanistic basis of the Semax half, not evidence about the pair.
Brain Research, 2006 · animal
What people using it report
- Sharper focus and easier verbal recall within 20 to 40 minutes of a Semax spray, which is the most consistent report on the pair.
- 1 preclinical study
Measured in animals or cells
A single 50 mcg/kg dose raised hippocampal BDNF protein 1.4-fold, trkB phosphorylation 1.6-fold and BDNF mRNA 3-fold in rats, alongside improved conditioned avoidance learning.
Brain Research, 2006 · animal
- 1 preclinical study
Measured in animals or cells
Humanin overexpression extended lifespan in C. elegans and an analogue improved metabolic healthspan in mice. In a human Ashkenazi Jewish cohort, circulating humanin was significantly higher in the 18 adult offspring of centenarians than in 19 age-matched controls (p<.05); in a 4-person CSF sample, humanin was lower in Alzheimer's patients than 3 controls (p<.05, very small n).
Aging (Albany NY), 2020 · animal
- 1 preclinical study
Measured in animals or cells
Introduced dihexa, an orally active, blood-brain-barrier-permeant AngIV analogue that reversed scopolamine-induced memory deficits and increased hippocampal synaptogenesis in rats. The journal issued an Expression of Concern for this paper in 2021.
Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 2013 · animal
- 1 preclinical study
Measured in animals or cells
Chronic oral P021 reduced age-related learning and memory decline in 22 to 24-month-old rats, restored neurogenesis and raised BDNF expression.
Neurobiology of Aging, 2014 · animal
- 1 preclinical study
Measured in animals or cells
Improved cognitive function and oxidative-stress resistance in offspring of hyperhomocysteinemic rats.
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, 2012 · animal
- 1 preclinical study
Measured in animals or cells
A single low dose improved memory in aged rhesus monkeys.
Nature Aging, 2023 · animal
- 1 preclinical study
Measured in animals or cells
Mouse. Cyclic four-factor expression restricted to neurons reversed age-associated phenotypes and improved memory performance. Restricting expression to one cell type is one of the strategies being used to narrow the safety window.
Communications Biology, 2024 · animal
- 1 preclinical study
Measured in animals or cells
Mouse. Human umbilical cord plasma improved hippocampal function and cognition in aged mice. TIMP2, enriched in cord plasma, young mouse plasma and young mouse hippocampi, appeared in the brain after systemic administration and increased synaptic plasticity and hippocampal-dependent cognition in aged mice. Depleting TIMP2 removed the benefit of cord plasma. NIH funded with non-US government and non-PHS support.
Nature, 2017 · animal
- 1 preclinical study
Measured in animals or cells
Mouse, with a human observational component. Plasma from voluntarily running mice infused into sedentary mice reduced baseline neuroinflammatory gene expression and experimentally induced brain inflammation. Proteomics showed a coordinated increase in complement cascade inhibitors including clusterin. Intravenous clusterin bound brain endothelial cells and reduced neuroinflammatory gene expression in acute brain inflammation and Alzheimer models. Separately, patients with cognitive impairment who completed six months of structured exercise had higher plasma clusterin. NIH funded.
Nature, 2021 · animal
- 1 preclinical study
Measured in animals or cells
Mouse. Infusing young cerebrospinal fluid into aged brains improved memory. Oligodendrocytes were the most responsive cell type, and young CSF boosted oligodendrocyte progenitor proliferation and differentiation in the aged hippocampus and in culture, mediated by serum response factor. FGF17 infusion alone was sufficient to induce progenitor proliferation and long-term memory consolidation in aged mice, and FGF17 blockade impaired cognition in young mice.
Nature, 2022 · animal
- 1 preclinical study
Measured in animals or cells
Mouse tau model. Clearing senescent astrocytes and microglia prevented tau deposition and cognitive decline. Mouse only; no human neurodegeneration trial of navitoclax exists.
Nature, 2018 · animal
- 1 preclinical study
Measured in animals or cells
5XFAD mice given 10 mg/kg intravenously every 3 weeks for 3 or 6 months (6 to 9 per group). Plaque burden fell at 3 months but not at 6; cognitive deficits, cell death markers and IL-1beta were reduced at 6 months. Mouse data only.
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 2018 · animal
- 1 preclinical study
Measured in animals or cells
19 month old Fischer 344 rats fed diets containing 0.004 or 0.016 percent pterostilbene, selected as the most effective of seven stilbenes in a cell screen. Pterostilbene reversed cognitive behavioural deficits and dopamine release deficits, and working memory correlated with pterostilbene levels in the hippocampus. Aged rats, not people, and a cognition endpoint rather than a lifespan one.
- 1 preclinical study
Measured in animals or cells
The entire mouse lifespan case, from one laboratory. Empagliflozin extended the median survival of male mice by 5.9 percent, improved learning, memory and motor balance, lowered body weight, reduced hepatic P21 and P16, altered gut flora composition and raised short-chain fatty acids. A single-site study, not part of any multi-site replication programme.
GeroScience, 2024 · animal
- 1 preclinical study
Measured in animals or cells
Read the title as two studies. The human component is a correlation between adropin and ageing-related neuropathology. The intervention, and the cognitive improvement, is in aging mice. Classified here as animal because that is where the treatment was given.
- 1 preclinical study
Measured in animals or cells
In mouse Alzheimer's disease models, FNDC5/irisin restored synaptic plasticity and memory. Mouse only.
Nature Medicine, 2019 · animal
What people using these actually report
Uncontrolled self-reports, gathered from clinic write-ups, regulatory complaint records and public forums, and reproduced here as written. They are the best guide on this page to what people actually do, what they expect, and what goes wrong, and they cannot show that anything works, because nobody was measured against a placebo and the people who saw no effect mostly stopped posting. Both halves of that are true at once. The negative reports are kept in for the same reason.
- The effect people describe valuing most is appetite and food preoccupation falling away rather than the number on the scale, and it is frequently described in terms of no longer having to spend attention on food.
Sources: Public discussion in r/Semaglutide, r/Zepbound, r/glp1 and general subreddits where GLP-1 drugs come up, read through the PullPush Reddit archive on 2026-09-13 because Reddit's own endpoints are unreachable from this environment. 62 comments reviewed. Nothing above is attributed to any specific post and no comment is reproduced.
- Reported interest skews toward biomarkers people cannot feel rather than subjective sensation: posters more often describe checking bloodwork such as lipids, glucose or CRP than describing an energy, mood or cognitive change they noticed day to day.
Sources: LONGECITY's Resveratrol subforum (including a long-running 'Positive, Negative, ZERO, effect noticed?' poll thread and a dedicated side-effects thread), general web search of longevity-community and vendor commentary on dosing, form and piperine practice, and Peter Attia's public podcast and written statements. Direct access to r/longevity, r/Supplements and r/Biohackers on Reddit was not available in this research pass (Reddit pages could not be fetched and did not surface in general web search here), so those specific subreddits could not be independently checked and any overlap with the sentiment described above is inferred, not confirmed firsthand.
- The conditions FDA names as being marketed for are normal ageing, memory loss, dementia, Parkinson disease, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer disease, heart disease and post-traumatic stress disorder. No approved indication exists for any of them.
Sources: The FDA consumer statement of 19 February 2019, Important Information about Young Donor Plasma Infusions for Profit, retrieved in full from fda.gov, and the ClinicalTrials.gov registry record NCT03353597 retrieved live from the ClinicalTrials.gov v2 API. No forum posts, clinic websites or press accounts are used here, and no individual clinic or patient report is quoted.
- Sharper focus and easier verbal recall within 20 to 40 minutes of a Semax spray, which is the most consistent report on the pair.
Sources: None of this is from a trial. There are no exit interviews for the combination because there is no trial of the combination. These reports come from nootropic and peptide user forums including r/Nootropics and r/Peptides, and from vendor and clinic write-ups. The Russian studies cited on this page did not collect side effect data in a form comparable to a Western adverse event table.
Why the trial record looks like this
A missing trial is usually a missing sponsor. Nobody runs a nine-figure programme on a molecule they cannot own, so the compounds with the thinnest human records are often the oldest and most freely available ones rather than the weakest. Taking E5 Plasma Fraction as the example, because it states the problem most clearly:
One paper, one laboratory, one species, no replication. That is the whole record, and it is stated here plainly because the headline number, more than halving epigenetic age in three organs, is the kind of figure that travels a long way from its source. The paper is well constructed on its own terms: the authors built and validated the rat clocks first, which is more care than most animal epigenetic ageing work takes, and they report functional measures alongside the clocks rather than clocks alone.
The comparison that matters is the mouse plasma dilution work published in Aging in 2020, which found that exchanging half the plasma volume for saline plus albumin, adding nothing young at all, matched the effects attributed to young blood. If that is right, a young plasma fraction may be working by removing old plasma rather than by supplying anything. No experiment has been run that separates those explanations for E5 specifically.
No company programme for this product is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. Where a research doc or a press account describes a human programme, the registry is the check, and the registry is empty.
A compound appears here only when a citation on its own page states this outcome and reports a result for it; naming it is not enough. Human, animal and cell work are counted separately and never merged. Participant counts are read from the study lines and deliberately undercount. Nothing here is advice, and nothing here is a recommendation to take or to avoid anything.