Almost Everything You Want to Know About Vinpocetine

By Dr. Gail Valentine

What is Vinpocetine?
Vinpocetine is an extract from the seeds of the periwinkle plant (Vinca minor), a common, vinelike evergreen ground cover. The roots creep along, blooming abundantly in the spring and sporadically throughout the rest of the growing season. Known by its typically violet color, Vinca has been planted in gardens for hundreds of years. It has a long history of use as a traditional tonic to alleviate weariness, especially the type associated with advanced age, and also as an astringent for excessive menses, bleeding gums, mouth sores, and more.

There are many active ingredients in Vinca minor, but vinpocetine is the one about which the most interesting and promising research has been conducted; there are many hundreds of studies with lab animals and human subjects, especially in recent European literature.

Vinpocetine is a derivative of the alkaloid vincamine. Like vincamine, it is found in small amounts in the seeds of periwinkle as well as other plants, such as voaconga and Crioceras longiflorus. Throughout the world, vincamine has been used to treat senile dementia with significant success. Studies have found vinpocetine to demonstrate many of the same functions as those of vincamine, but without the side effects. Moreover, it has been shown to be at least 2 times (and up to 3-4 times) more potent than vincamine for improving cerebral circulation, memory, and other functions in humans. No interactions with pharmaceutical drugs have been reported.

How does Vinpocetine work?
Numerous scientific studies have shown vinpocetine to be of benefit for the prevention and improvement of many different kinds of ailments. It enhances cognitive functions, including those involving long- and short-term memory, and it has also been shown to be valuable in protecting heart, visual, and hearing functions, among other benefits.
In broadest terms, vinpocetine is a powerful memory enhancer. It achieves this principally by facilitating cerebral metabolism and improving blood flow in the brain. It works by causing mild dilation of blood vessels, thereby allowing for increased cerebral blood flow, which results in increased oxygenation and glucose utilization.
This makes vinpocetine an ideal candidate not only for the improvement and prevention of certain disease processes in need of increased blood flow and oxygenation, but also for athletes who want to enhance their performance by increasing brain oxygenation, such as skiers, mountain climbers, and high-altitude hikers.

In addition to more efficient brain circulation, vinpocetine has been found to increase brain-cell energy through its effect on the production of ATP (the cellular energy molecule).

Since many brain disorders have been found to be caused by poor circulation or by neuronal damage due to inadequate oxygen and inadequate amounts of energy, it makes sense to consider vinpocetine in one's daily cognitive supplement program.

What benefits can I expect?
Acclaim for vinpocetine's use is widespread throughout the world - in Europe, Japan, Korea, China, and elsewhere. Unequivocally, vinpocetine has some extraordinary characteristics. There is strong evidence that vinpocetine can help:

1. Improve Cognition:
Improve memory, long- and short-term, Enhance alertness, awareness, and preparedness, Act as a neuroprotector, Prevent or reverse ischemic (lack of oxygen) damage to brain, muscle, liver, & elsewhere, Diminish senile cerebral dysfunction.

2. Improve Hearing Function:
Prevent or relieve hearing loss due to various causes, Prevent or relieve tinnitus (ringing/buzzing in the ears), Prevent or relieve vertigo (dizziness).

3. Improve Visual Function:
Improve night vision, Improve wound healing of eyes due to burns, Prevent or relieve glaucoma, Prevent or improve age-related macular decline.

4. Improve Cardiovascular Function:
Diminish atherosclerotic plaque, Improve cardiac output and nutritive blood flow to various organs, Improve dilation of blood vessels, Increase the flexibility of red blood cells, Scavenge toxic metals in the body, such as aluminum and lead.
What is the right amount of Vinpocetine for me?
This depends on your personal needs, goals, body chemistry, and so forth. Depending on whether your goals are more cognitive-oriented, visual- or hearing-oriented, or athletic performance-oriented, you may prefer either a vinpocetine formulation or vinpocetine alone. Generally a formulation is designed to provide optimal attainment of a particular goal. I tend to recommend formulations over single ingredients alone.

Some Guidelines:
Most studies showing positive benefits from vinpocetine have been done at amounts of 10-30 mg daily, and some at 40 mg daily. All studies done at 30 mg daily showed additional benefits compared with lesser daily amounts. Depending on your body chemistry, you could start with 10 mg daily and work up, or you could start with 30 mg daily. My suggestion for most people is work up to 30-40 mg daily over a couple of weeks or more. Too much, too soon of many supplements can disrupt normal intestinal flora (bacteria) and most commonly cause gastrointestinal upset or diarrhea. *

*Individuals with medical conditions should seek guidance from their health care providers.

Will I get more benefits if I take more Vinpocetine?
Most nootropics (supplements that positively affect cognitive function) have ideal levels for positive effects. These may vary slightly from person to person, but they generally follow what is known as a dose-response curve. The desirable effects may decline if too much of the supplement is taken. Many of the studies done with vinpocetine show the dose-response curve leveling off or declining above 40 mg/day or more. Although everyone's body chemistry is different, I would not advise taking more than the recommended amount, as a general rule.

Should I cut back on Vinpocetine after a while?
There is evidence that when vinpocetine is maintained at higher levels (10 mg 3-4 times per day), maximum benefits are seen. And when lower levels of vinpocetine are implemented, benefits decline. Thus, vinpocetine is dose-related, but only up to about 40 mg/day. Taking significantly more than this may result in a loss of efficacy. Taking too much vinpocetine can be like taking too little.

There are other cognitive-enhancing supplements where a loading dose (an initially higher amount) is appropriate. Then after a time period, cutting back to a lower maintenance dose is appropriate, such as with phosphatidylserine. However, there is no evidence that this is true for vinpocetine. The data supports that regularly maintaining the higher levels of vinpocetine.

Is Vinpocetine OK to use with other supplements?
All the studies that have been done on vinpocetine and its effects when used with other compounds have shown it to be innocuous. Many individuals are taking multiple cognitive supplements and other nutrient supplements along with vinpocetine without any untoward effects.

Is Vinpocetine safe? Does it have any side effects?
Vinpocetine is extracted as a single specific substance from the periwinkle plant and is not the whole of the plant. Vinpocetine in some studies has been found to have fewer side effects than placebo, making it essentially side-effect-free. There are some reports in the literature, however, of mild gastrointestinal upset at 60 and 180 mg/day. However, I cannot find any studies that implicate vinpocetine with any clinically relevant side effects at 30-40 mg/day.

Is Vinpocetine natural?
If natural means produced by nature, safe, and without side effects, then vinpocetine is as natural a substance as can be obtained.

How soon will I notice the effects of Vinpocetine?
This is extremely variable and may be associated with an individual's body chemistry and self-awareness. Some people have reported noticing an improvement in only hours. The improvement may be subtle, and it is more commonly noticed over weeks or months. Some people report feeling a mild excitation, improvement in remembering things related to daily living, or better performance at mental tasks or mental games. Dr. Ward Dean, a cognitive expert and life extension physician, says about vinpocetine, "It's one of the few cognitive enhancers with which I can actually notice a difference." Additionally, it can be difficult to ascertain how much vinpocetine is helping when we are in a progressively declining state with regard to memory, vision, and hearing, for example, since these functions diminish with age.


Source: www.life-enhancement.com

STAYING MENTALLY SHARP
With Vinpocetine European 'Smart Drug' Now A Dietary Supplement
By William Faloon

Vinpocetine is a medication used throughout the world to treat brain aging. It's now available to Americans. The scientific literature provides persuasive evidence that this plant extract can improve memory and cognitive function.

Vinpocetine was introduced into clinical practice 22 years ago in Hungary for the treatment of cerebrovascular disorders and symptoms related to senility. Since then, it has been increasingly used throughout the world in the treatment of cognitive deficits related to normal aging.

Vinpocetine, a pharmaceutical extraction from the periwinkle plant, has become a popular "smart drug" that Americans import from Europe for personal use. A recent ruling in Federal court makes vinpocetine legally available in the United States as a low-cost dietary supplement.

Vinpocetine functions via several important mechanisms to correct multiple known causes of brain aging. It is well-established that normal aging results in a reduction of blood flow to the brain and a decrease in the metabolic activity of brain cells. The biological actions of vinpocetine initially showed that it enhances circulation and oxygen utilization in the brain, increases tolerance of the brain toward diminished blood flow, & inhibits abnormal platelet aggregation that can interfere with circulation or cause a stroke.

More recent studies demonstrate that vinpocetine offers significant and direct protection against neurological damage caused by aging. The molecular evidence indicates that the neuroprotective action of vinpocetine is related to its ability to maintain brain cell electrical conductivity and to protect against damage caused by excessive intracellular release of calcium. Vinpocetine enhances cyclic GMP levels in the vascular smooth muscle, leading to reduced resistance of cerebral vessels & increased cerebral blood flow.

It is interesting to note that Viagra, the widely publicized sex drug, and vinpocetine both work in the same way to improve blood flow. Vinpocetine's improvement in blood flow is specific to the brain, but like Viagra, vinpocetine possesses a mechanism that improves blood flow by inhibiting a phosphodiesterase enzyme that degrades cyclic GMP. The degradation of cyclic GMP causes arterial constriction and reduced blood flow. By inhibiting a phosphodiesterase enzyme, vinpocetine increases blood flow to the brain just as Viagra increases blood flow to the genitals.

In a double-blind clinical trial-that is, a medical study in which neither the subject nor the persons administering the treatment know which treatment a subject is receiving-vinpocetine was shown to effect significant improvement in elderly patients with chronic cerebral dysfunction. Forty-two patients received 10 mg of vinpocetine three times a day for 30 days, then 5 mg three times a day for 60 days. Placebo tablets were given to another 42 patients for the 90-day trial period. Patients on vinpocetine scored consistently better in all evaluations, including measurements on the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scale, the Sandoz Clinical Assessment Geriatric (SCAG) scale, and the Mini-Mental Status Questionnaire (MMSQ). There were no serious side effects related to the treatment drug.

In another double-blind study, 22 elderly patients with central nervous system degenerative disorders were treated with vinpocetine or placebo. Patients received 10 mg of vinpocetine three times a day for 30 days, then 5 mg three times a day for 60 days. Another 18 elderly patients were given matching placebo tablets. Vinpocetine-treated patients scored consistently better in all evaluations on the tests noted above. According to CGI assessments, the severity of illness decreased in 73 percent of the patients in the vinpocetine group at day 30 and 77 percent at day 90, and improvement was seen in 77 percent and 87 percent of the patients at days 30 and 90, respectively. Patients also showed statistically significant improvement for all SCAG items but one, at days 30 and 90. The physician rated the improvement in 59 percent of the vinpocetine-treated patients as good to excellent. Again, there were no serious side effects.

The effect of vinpocetine on memory functions was studied in 50 patients with disturbances of cerebral circulation. Improvement of cerebral circulation was observed after intravenous and oral administration of vinpocetine. Blood flow was most markedly increased in the gray matter of the brain. Improvement of memory capacity evaluated by psychological tests was recorded after one month of vinpocetine treatment. Longer-term use was associated with alleviation or complete disappearance of symptoms of neurological deficit. No side effects attributable to the drug were observed. The doctors stated that vinpocetine is indicated in the treatment of ischemic disorders of cerebral circulation-that is, a deficiency of blood, usually due to a constriction or partial obstruction of a blood vessel-particularly in chronic vascular insufficiency.

Vinpocetine's safety and efficacy were demonstrated in a study of infants who suffered severe brain damage caused by birth trauma. Vinpocetine caused a significant reduction or disappearance of seizures, and the vinpocetine group also showed a decrease of intracranial hypertension and normalization of the psychomotor development.

In a study to ascertain how this compound boosts cognition in rats, vinpocetine produced a significant increase in the firing rate of neurons. The scientists noted that the dose of vinpocetine used to increase electrical firing corresponded to the dose range that produced memory- enhancing effects. These results provided direct electrophysiological evidence that vinpocetine increases the activity of ascending noradrenergic pathways, and that this effect may be related to the cognitive-enhancing characteristics of the compound.

A vitamin B12 metabolite called methylcobalamin has been shown to specifically protect against glutamate-induced excitotoxicity neuronal injury. Vinpocetine also has been documented to partially protect against excitotoxicity induced by a wide range of glutamate related neurotoxins.

The benefits of vinpocetine are not restricted to the brain. One study showed beneficial effects in protecting the retina against the hepatitis B virus. While hepatitis viruses primarily affect the liver, most people don't know that these viruses can also infect the heart muscle, retina and other parts of the body.

Another study showed that vinpocetine administered to rats inhibited the development of gastric lesions induced by ethanol, indicating its potential value for humans who drink to excess. And, in fact, vinpocetine is a popular drug used by alcoholics in Russia to recover from gastric and neurological ethanol-induced toxicity.
Space motion sickness has been a perplexing problem in both the Soviet/Russian and U.S. manned space programs. Both the sensory conflict theory (neuronal signal mismatch) and the cephalad fluid shift concept explain the mechanism. Whichever theory is correct, vinpocetine has been used successfully in offsetting space-motion sickness in experimental test subjects.

Vinpocetine used to be an expensive European drug, but is now available as a low-cost dietary supplement. Health people need only 10-20 mg a day of vinpocetine. Those with neurological impairment should take 10 mg 3-4 times a day for 30 days, then reduce the dose to 10 mg 2 times a day.

Starting about the age of 30, we typically experience a progressive decline in cognitive function. By the time we're in our 60s or 70s, one can expect severe neurological impairment. The recent availability of supplements like vinpocetine, that used to be restricted, appear to mitigage many of the degenerative processes involved in brain aging.


Source: www.lef.org

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