Centrophenoxine Is Not That Interesting
The Forever Healthy Foundation publishes, intermittently, a series of rigorous literature reviews for presently available treatments that are alleged to help with mechanisms of aging. The viewpoint is conservative; the authors are less convinced by the evidence for the utility of early senolytics than I am, for example. Their latest publication covers centrophenoxine, not a treatment I am familiar with, but by the sound of it I'm not missing out on anything. The data is emblematic of much of what is marketed under the "anti-aging" banner; unconvincing, mixed, marginal.
Centrophenoxine (CPH) is a compound consisting of dimethylaminoethanol (DMAE) and para-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (pCPA), joined by a chemical bond. DMAE can be converted by cells into choline, which is a precursor of membrane phospholipids, neurotransmitters, and other important biomolecules. The pCPA component enhances the penetration of CPH across the blood-brain barrier. CPH supplementation is hypothesized to increase brain acetylcholine levels, protect neurons from oxidative damage, improve cognitive function, and reduce age-related lipofuscin accumulation.
There is moderate evidence that centrophenoxine may benefit patients hospitalized for injury to the brain from either vascular or traumatic origin, especially in acute cerebral hemorrhage. However, despite several decades of use since it was first synthesized, the clinical utility of centrophenoxine in healthy individuals remains unclear, primarily because the vast majority of published trials test the efficacy of centrophenoxine in treating study populations with specific diseases.
Centrophenoxine is marketed as a general anti-aging supplement, however, we found no evidence in humans to support this purported benefit. Preclinical studies on the effect of centrophenoxine on longevity in animals are also scant. The evidence regarding the use of centrophenoxine as a cognitive enhancer is inconsistent. Many studies employed a wide battery of tests, often reporting a narrow but significant positive result among many assessments that did not change, or occasionally worsened. Most studies were small, less than 30 participants, conducted in older adults with significant cognitive impairment, often in frail clinical condition, and suffered from high dropout rates.
Although low doses are unlikely to cause harm, we conclude that, in the healthy population, the evidence for any benefits of centrophenoxine supplementation is not sufficiently compelling to overcome the precautionary principle.
Link: https://brain.forever-healthy.org/display/EN/Centrophenoxine
40 years ago, there weren't many anti-aging drugs. I have tried 2 types. Centrophenoxine and pyritinol (Enerbol, Encephabol). Pyritinol obviously slowed down aging and the feeling of using it was pleasant. In contrast, centrophenoxine was without effect or rather had a negative effect. An impurity of dioxin was found in centrophenoxine, production was stopped. Dioxin was created as a by-product during the synthesis of para chlorophenoxy acetic acid.