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Pm4.5
Piracetam Research
Likely helps
108 peer-reviewed studies
What the evidence says
Likely helps
Piracetam appears to help in 3 of 4 studies with measurable effects — the evidence leans clearly favourable.
Most evidence is from high-quality meta-analyses and randomised trials published 1976–2026 with a typical study size of 243 participants.
Based on 108 studies · 12 meta-analyses · 88 RCTs · 59,800 total participants
Confidence
High confidence
What the studies found
3helped1unclear· 104 more without graded effect data
6Neuropsychiatric symptoms in frontotemporal dementiaMeta-Analysisn=243 · medium study2023
In plain English: This study provides the first NMA for clinical recommendation to support the use of high-dose oxytocin and caution regarding the use of piracetam for neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with FTD.
Huang MH et al. · The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (2023)
Huge benefit
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Likely real
Compared with placebo, high-dose oxytocin (72 international units) was associated with the greatest improvement in patients' neuropsychiatric symptoms (SMD = -1.17, 95% CIs = -2.25 to -0.08, z = -2.10, p = 0.035).
Piracetam significantly worsened neuropsychiatric symptoms (SMD = 3.48, 95% CIs = 1.58 to 5.37, z = 3.60, p < 0.001) and caregiver stress (SMD = 2.40, 95% CIs = 0.80-4.01, z = 2.94, p = 0.003).
Trazodone had significantly higher rates of adverse events (OR = 9.53, 95% CIs = 1.85-49.20, z = 2.69, p = 0.007).
7Painful sickle cell disease crisesMeta-Analysisn=169 · medium study2016
In plain English: The small number of included trials and their poor methodological quality provided insufficient reliable evidence to support the routine use of this medication for preventing the incidence of painful sickle cell disease crises.We will continue to run searches to identify any potentially relevant trials; however, we do not plan to update other sections of the review until new trials are published.
Al Hajeri A et al. · The Cochrane database of systematic reviews (2016)
Although there was no significant difference between the piracetam and placebo periods for the number of days of hospitalisation (P = 0.87) in one trial, inconsistencies in the criteria necessary for hospitalisation during sickle crises did not permit accurate conclusions to be drawn.
8Schizophrenia symptom severityMeta-Analysisn=270 · medium study2019
In plain English: Some, but not all agents with anti-inflammatory properties showed efficacy.
Çakici N et al. · Psychological medicine (2019)
Noticeable benefit
← WorseNo effectBetter →
The results of aspirin [mean weighted effect size (ES): 0.30; n = 270; 95% CI (CI) 0.06-0.54], estrogens (ES: 0.78; n = 723; CI 0.36-1.19), minocycline (ES: 0.40; n = 946; CI 0.11-0.68), and NAC (ES: 1.00; n = 442; CI 0.60-1.41) were significant in meta-analysis of at least two studies.
Some, but not all agents with anti-inflammatory properties showed efficacy.
Effective agents were aspirin, estrogens, minocycline, and NAC.
In plain English: High-level evidence related to pharmacological strategies for managing Lewy body dementia is rare.
Stinton C et al. · The American journal of psychiatry (2015)
High-level evidence related to pharmacological strategies for managing Lewy body dementia is rare.
Strategies for important areas of need in Lewy body dementia, such as autonomic symptoms and caregiver burden, have not been investigated, nor have the views of patients and caregivers about pharmacological strategies.
13Memory enhancementMeta-Analysisn=886 · large study2024
In plain English: This investigation serves as a significant contribution to the ongoing quest to elucidate the potential benefits of piracetam in the field of cognitive neuroscience.
Gouhie FA, Barbosa KO, Cruz ABR, Wellichan MM, Zampolli TM. · Clinical neurology and neurosurgery (2024)
No clear effect
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Could be chance
Results In our analysis, 199 articles were identified, of which we included eighteen studies, comprising a total of 886 patients, of which Piracetam was the treatment option in 442 (49.88 %) patients.
Memory enhancement (SMD 0.75; 95 % CI [-0.19; 1.69]; p=0.12; I²=96 %) had no clinical difference between the intervention and the control group.
Conclusion Upon the conclusion of this study, it is apparent that we cannot definitively ascertain the impact of piracetam on memory function.