Modafinil vs Piracetam: Similarities and Differences

by jennifer brown a path to better health

Modafinil and Piracetam are both known to be a cognitive enhancer. The question lies if they fall under smart drugs and do they provide similar effects and safety. However, Modafinil is approved to be a wakefulness-promoting agent by the FDA. Smart drug Modafinil and Piracetam are used to promote cognitive brain functions. The usage of both medications is equally increasing globally. Nootropic are believed to be non-toxic and non-addictive that can cause minimal negative effects.

Here are some of the guidelines to point out the safety, comparisons, dosage guidelines, possible negative effects, interactions. Let’s dig into the similarities and differences of Modafinil versus Piracetam.

Smart drug Modafinil:

Smart drug Modafinil is marketed under the brand name Provigil. The compound contains the S and R enantiomer. Smart drug Modafinil is a nootropic that got popularity by healthy individuals using it as an off-label term. This nootropic is introduced in the market to treat sleep disorders such as Narcolepsy, Sleep Apnea, and Shift work sleep disorder. It got its approval from the FDA in the year 1998 for this purpose.

Modafinil 200 mg has been used many times as off-label. Some of the off-label health conditions are depression, cognitive impairment, jet lag, chronic fatigue syndrome, etc. In recent reports, it is found out to be used as a potent remedy for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD/ADD) to reduce out the symptoms of impulsivity. Smart drug Modafinil improves our alertness enhances our thinking process and boosts up cognition. Studies have shown that it influences the levels of several neurotransmitters in the brain, including dopamine, histamine, serotonin, glutamate, and GABA.

Piracetam:

Piracetam falls under nootropic in the racetams group of meds. This got introduced in the 1960s and used for the prevention and treating age-related cognitive decline, learning disabilities, and seizures. This is often referred to as the smart drug because of its safety and the way it powers cognitive functions. Piracetam got marketed in health-food stores, but it is not considered as a mineral, vitamin, amino acid, etc and that became the reason to be not classified as a dietary supplement by the FDA.

This is used as a potential treatment for health conditions like brain injury, deep vein thrombosis, vertigo, etc. It has a key element as AMPA that helps to improve signal transmissions between neurons, enhancing cognitive function and nerve system functioning. It is also known to improve symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, as impaired motor functioning and difficulty walking.

Piracetam has the benefit of improving cognitive functions in patients with dementia. According to the study of 2002, it is found that Piracetam is highly effective in treating older people with cognitive impairment. It is considered to be the first eugeroic medicine and it also stands out to be the synthetic derivative of the GABA neurotransmitter.

Compare Modafinil and Piracetam:

Brand Name	Provigil (Modafinil)	Dinagen, Myocalm, Nootropul, Qropi (Piracetam)
Generic version availability	Yes	Yes
Form of drug	Oral Pill	Oral pill, capsule, and powder
Strengths	100 mg, 200 mg	200 mg, 400 mg, 800 mg, and 1200 mg tablets
Half life of drug	15 hours	4-5 hours
Length of medication	Long term treatment	Long term treatment
Controlled substance	Yes	No
Risk of withdrawal	No	Avoid abrupt withdrawal

This is the table to decide between the two products. Marking the essential points both have a wider realm of use and are safe and very effective for the majority of individuals. This comparison also helps bring out the similarities and differences in smart drug Modafinil and Piracetam.

From the table, it is seen that smart drug Modafinil and Piracetam have a similar mode of action and both are safe and well-tolerated. Smart drug Modafinil and Piracetam helps to work on memory and enhance cognitive functions and protects one against depression.

Concluding part:

Smart drug Modafinil is widely popular among the individuals to be the safe nootropic whereas Piracetam falls under the nootropic supplement. To this, we conclude where individuals experimenting with racetams, can start with this. Modafinil is best used for treating sleep disorder and other off label terms.

Both are powerful in helping out the individuals suffering from excessive sleep disorder, cognitive decline, focus. Modafinil and Piracetam help to boost up brain cognition, learning, and memory, boosting up focus, etc.