Healthy News

Ibogaine
Advocates of an unsanctioned use of an obscure drug, the hallucinogen ibogaine, claim that it alleviates addiction (heroin, opiates, and even prescription drugs such as OxyContin). Illegal only in the US, ibogaine derives from the root bark of a West African shrub. A study in 1990 revealed that 11 people died within 72 hours of taking ibogaine, recommending that people with certain heart problems avoid the drug.
Science News Week Magazine, January 5, 2008, Vol 173, No. 1, pg. 6.

GPC Fights Dementia
Given inravenously, a molecule (called glycerophosphocholine, GPC) found in breast milk can improve mental function in people with dementia and in victims of stroke and traumatic brain injury by about 25%. GPC improved memory, attention, and orientation in people with various forms of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. GPC increases the number of receptors on brain cells for nerve growth factor, a signalling protein that spurs production and survival of nerves.
Science News Week Magazine, January 5, 2008, Vol 173, No. 1, pg. 13.