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Comment by A_D_E_P_T

Very interesting.

Memantine is an antiviral/nootropic (NMDA agonist) that's considered one of the best conventional therapies for Alzheimer's. For e.g., https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32914577/

Amantadine is a related compound that's seemingly more potent as an antiviral, and less potent at the NMDA receptor.

Medical hypothesis: This makes me wonder if amantadine might be an effective drug in Alzheimer's treatment. It would come as a total shock to the med chem community if memantine's activity had to do with its suppression of viral replication, and much less to do with its activity at the NMDA receptor.

As an aside, the Russians have a similar drug called bromantane which is sold OTC as a sort of mental energy booster. It's not really a stimulant, and its effects are mild enough for daily use. It might also be very interesting in this context. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bromantane

parent A_D_E_P_T 1 year ago

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