Memory, impairment research

Veng LM, Mesches MH and Browning MD (2003). Age-related working memory impairment is correlated with increases in the L-type calcium channel protein alD (Cavl.3) in area CA1 of the hippocampus and both are ameliorated by chronic nimodipine treatment. Molecular Brain Research, 110, 193-202. 

Semlitsch HV, Anderer P, Saletu B, Binder GA, Decker KA. (1995). Cognitive psychophysiology in nootropic drug research effects of Ginkgo biloba on event-related potentials (P300) in age-associated memory impairment. Pharmacopsychiatry. 28(4) 134-42. 

Zaleplon can be used to treat symptoms of insomnia with little next-day psychomotor or memory impairment. However, further research is needed. 

Studies on the cognitive effects of areca are scarce, but its known cholinergic mechansims have led some researchers to formally investigate the effects. Arecoline improves memory on a staircase test in rats, but effects were dose dependent (Molinengo et al. 1995). A low dose (0.5 mg/kg) improves performance, but a large dose (3.5-8 mg/kg) causes impair-... 

Another striking characteristic of chronic Ecstasy use is an impairment of memory. More than 20 independent research groups have found memory deficits associated with Ecstasy use. These deficits are directly related to the loss of serotonin neurons that accompanies chronic Ecstasy use, such that the greater the loss... 

Since amphetamines increase blood pressure, the chances for a stroke increases in users. Abusers of amphetamine may also be prone to degenerative disorders of the nervous system such as Parkinson s disease. Research published in the March 2001 issue of American Journal of Psychiatry indicates that MAP abuse leads to long-lasting changes in the human brain that are linked to impaired coordination and memory. 

The long-term effects of GHB use are largely unknown. Recent research shows that some club drugs can have lasting effects on the brain, resulting in memory loss, impaired motor skills, and distorted sensations. It is possible that GHB may cause these long-term effects as well. 

A study conducted in Britain reported that ketamine s impact on short- and long-term memory can linger for up to three days after a dose. Researchers looked at a broad array of memory functions, word association and language tests, attention span, and other factors related to mood. Though some recovery was noted 72 hours after ketamine usage, the researchers noted lasting impairments related to language and some aspects of memory. 

Depression and Diabetes Mellitus. Patients with chronic medical illness have a high prevalence of major depressive disorder [59], Depression may be three times more prevalent in the diabetic population when compared with its occurrence in nondiabetic individuals [60], In addition, microalbuminuria, hypertension, and hyperinsulinemia are another three independent risk factors for cardiac disease in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) [61], Nosadini et al. showed that peripheral insulin resistance, hypertension, microalbuminuria, and lipid abnormalities are associated with NIDDM [61], Further, Helkala et al. determined that cognitive and memory dysfunction are associated with NIDDM and explored the disease s relationship with depression, metabolic control, and serum lipids. The results showed that the NIDDM patients had impaired control of their learning processes [62], Obviously, future research examining the causal relationship of depression to the onset on diabetes and the effect of depression on the natural course of diabetes is needed [60]. 

---