EVALUATION OF NOOTROPICA IN THE PRACTICE

Treatment with ''nootropic drugs'' of patients suffering from dementia is often described as arbitrary. To define the potential usefulness o f nootropic drugs, effects and side effects, economic aspects in compa rison to other treatment approaches were studied. A summary of literat ure published concerning these criteria underlines the efficacy of noo tropics in improving the symptoms at the beginning and in postponing t he progress of the disease. The majority of substances does not lead t o severe side effects. There are not enough studies comparing the effe cts of the substances or on prophylactic effects. Delayed admission to care units leads to a positive cost effect of nootropics. Thus, also for economic reasons it seems advisable to treat patients with nootrop ics. Better effects are gained when nootropic treatment is combined wi th training and changing of the structure of the environment. A propos al fora rational treatment with nootropics is derived from the data.