Schizophrenia Daily News Blog

Nicotine Studied as Treatment for Brain Disorders

The Boston Globe Reported this week that Nicotine is being studied as a treatment for brain disorders.

Scientists reported yesterday that nicotine seems to diminish mental impairment stemming from stress or an underactive thyroid - the latest in a growing body of evidence that the long vilified substance may help people with brain disorders ranging from Alzheimer's disease to schizophrenia.

   Nicotine researchers caution that the findings by no means offset the health ravages of smoking. But for years, a growing number of them have been exploring the aid nicotine may offer people with dementia, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and more.
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   Pharmaceutical researchers are racing to synthesize drugs that could offer the benefits of nicotine without its negative side effects, such as addiction and narrowed blood vessels.

   "It's a critical moment, because we're really on the threshhold of a whole family of these new drugs coming on the market," said Dr. Ed Levin, a professor of psychiatry at Duke University who is considered a pioneer in nicotine research. Drugs based on nicotine could begin arriving within the next couple of years, he said.

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Source: The Boston Globe