Pramiracetam and noopept are synthetic nootropics known for their cognitive-enhancing properties. Pramiracetam is derived from piracetam, while noopept is a peptide-derived nootropic similar to the racetam family. But which nootropic is better? Read my complete noopept vs pramiracetam comparison to find out.
What Is Pramiracetam?
Pramiracetam is a racetam molecule that was synthesized from piracetam, the “original” nootropic. [*] Pramiracetam was developed in 1979 by Parke-Davis and is sold under the brand name “Pramistar.”
Pramiracetam was developed for patients with brain injuries, but it is used today as a nootropic due to its potential cognitive-enhancing properties. Due to its complicated legal status, it’s hard to find pramiracetam in most other developed countries.
How Does It Work?
Researchers do not yet fully understand how the pramiracetam work, but they point towards a few potential mechanisms of work:
- Pramiracetam may increase acetylcholine levels. It does so by increasing choline uptake into the cells (through the high-affinity choline uptake system) [*][*]
- Pramiracetam may impact adrenal hormones like cortisol and aldosterone[*][*]
- Pramiracetam could increase nitric oxide production in the brain [*]
However, keep in mind that most studies were done on animals, and we still lack quality studies on people. Most importantly, we lack quality studies on healthy individuals.
Pramiracetam Benefits
The available studies show that pramiracetam is a potent cognitive enhancer. Pramiracetam benefits include:
- Enhanced memory
- Faster brain recovery
- Neuroprotection
A double-blind, randomized controlled trial of four men with brain injury showed that pramiracetam helped them improve short- and long-term memory. [*] Other studies show greater memory improvement in volunteers suffering from memory loss. [*][*]
Studies also show improved memory decline in chronic cerebrovascular insufficiency patients. [*] Lastly, one preliminary cohort study of 65 people with mild brain injury showed that pramiracetam reduced nausea, dizziness, and headaches. [*] Again, no other cognitive benefits were noticed.
Dosage
The recommended daily dosage is 1200 mg of pramiracetam, taken in three 400 mg dosages or two 600 mg dosages. It is unclear if 1200 mg of pramiracetam is an optimal daily dosage, but this dosage seems to be effective.
The question is if pramiracetam is safe? Available evidence shows that pramiracetam is well-tolerated. Also, researchers have reported no side effects so far. But most studies were short-term and done on a population who suffer from cognitive decline. We have absolutely no data on how pramiracetam works in the long term in a healthy population.
What Is Noopept?
Noopept is a synthetic molecule developed in the 1990s to slow down cognitive decline in the elderly. [*] It is a potent cognitive enhancer that may help with relieving stress and enhancing mood.
Noopept Benefits
Noopept is an effective nootropic that may provide a lot of cognitive benefits:
- It can improve memory
- It may help with brain fog
- It may decrease stress
- It may boost attention and focus
- It may help Alzheimer patients
Noopept increases the production of brain chemicals called NGF and BDNF in the hippocampus. Therefore, researchers believed that supplementing noopept may improve memory (especially long-term). [*]
Noopept also improves sensitivity to acetylcholine, which helps with brain fog, memory, and learning.
Also, the main metabolite of noopept has been proven to affect the hippocampus in an anxiolytic manner, which makes noopept potentially effective for reducing stress.
Noopept Dosage
The recommended daily dosage of noopept is 10-30 mg. It is important to take a month-long break after every 60 days of use.
This is a powerful nootropic, so use rational judgment if you decide to take it. The most common side effects include fatigue, nausea, insomnia, and headaches.
I noticed that most often, side effects happen to the overdose of noopept. Even though its half-life is very short (30-60 minutes), the side effects happen probably because of its potency. In addition, it may help to stack noopept with choline to minimize the risk.
Noopept Vs Pramiracetam: Similarities
Noopept and pramiracetam are among the most potent and strongest nootropics on the market. Users report that both nootropics enhance cognition, boost brainpower, help with memory, and act as powerful stimulants.
Both nootropics are underresearched, and in the “grey legal area,” so you need to do your homework regarding their legal status in your country.
Unlike most other natural nootropics, these are both synthetic (man-made) nootropics you can find on the market.
Noopept Vs Pramiracetam: Differences
Many people believe that both nootropics come from the racetam family but only pramiracetam does. Noopept is structurally similar to racetams but not part of their nootropic family.
We lack safety data on the long-term use of both nootropics. The available research shows great potential for people who suffer from mental decline, but there are basically no data on healthy individuals. We also lack long-term data, which is quite problematic.
Due to different mechanisms of work and potency, you need to take a much lower dosage of noopept to get a similar result than supplementing pramiracetam. Therefore, most people have a better experience with noopept, but it can be easier to overdose on noopept, so you need to be more careful.
Noopept can also help to relieve stress, while no data are showing that for pramiracetam. If you’re looking for stress relieving properties in a nootropic, then noopept may be the better choice than pramiracetam.
Which Is Better?
If you want to enhance your cognition or improve your memory, then pramiracetam is better. If you would like to enhance your cognition, decrease your stress, and improve your mood, then noopept is the better choice between the two.
However, due to their complicated legal status and lack of research, I don’t recommend supplementing any of the two.
Verdict
I would really like to say that I recommend one (or both) nootropics that we just compared, but I don’t. Noopept and pramiracetam are potentially very powerful nootropics. However, supplementing them can come with side effects. Also, we lack quality studies on healthy individuals and safety data. If you are a healthy person, there is no guarantee that any of the two nootropics will be beneficial or safe. Until we get more data about them, I do not recommend supplementing noopept and pramiracetam.
Luckily, there are many safe, well-researched, and effective nootropics on the market. Click here to check our top-rated ones.