The practice of taking “smart drugs” — pharmaceuticals that increase mental capacity and ability to concentrate — is growing more common. A new study shows that doctors perform better under the influence of certain performance-enhancing drugs:
Researchers gave sleep-deprived surgeons the brain stimulant modafinil, known to boost memory and brain power, and then tested how good they were at thinking clearly, solving problems and carrying out simulated operations.
The results were so convincing that scientists believe the medical profession could even be weaned off its current drug of choice — caffeine.
The study’s results, led by Lord Darzi, professor of surgery at Imperial College London, suggested that doctors whose brains were sharpened by the drug would perform better under pressure.
What is more, their extra brain power means they would think faster and react more decisively if something went wrong, Darzi said.
“We found that when surgeons had taken modafinil they saw sharp improvements in their ability to solve problems and think flexibly. In fact, their performance was very good,” Barbara Sahakian, professor of psychiatry at Cambridge University, said.
I know of students who have taken these kinds of drugs to get an edge in college. And some futurists argue that taking a pill to supercharge one’s intellectual output will be commonplace some day.
We will be debating the many ethical questions involved in this sort of thing, and weighing potential risks, for many years to come.
OK, I'll bite. What is the ethical problem with taking these pills? Same ethical problem we had a century ago with wearing rouge to simulate fresh pink cheeks? Performance enhancing drugs enhance performance. Good for the doctor, good for the patient. Unless they don't work, of course, which is another matter.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSome people see it as cheating, I'd guess, or that taking drugs while healthy is a moral failing.
To my mind it's more of risk assessment: newer drugs can have unanticipated long term consequences. Fish oil, curcumin, PQQ & Coenzyme Q10 already deliver these kinds of benefits without risking dependence on a prescription drug - and they're all either long-standing parts of the human diet or already present in the human physiology.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseBut don't let the FDA get wind of this. They'll be suing Cephalon for billions...
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYou can be certain that access to these wonder drugs will be socialized so that the wealthy and the white don't gain an advantage. Either that, or performance standards will be further eradicated so that said advantages are rendered invisible or unmeasurable.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI suppose none of these side effects are of concern here:
frenzied, abnormally excited mood
hallucinating (seeing things or hearing voices that do not exist)
anxiety
depression
thinking about killing or harming yourself
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAlmost every drug that affects the brain has a similar list of side-effects, from caffeine to headache medicine. The question is the prevalence and extent of those side-effects. For this particular drug, they seem to be quite uncommon.
Presumably a doctor's first self-trial of the medicine wouldn't be during work anyway, just as though operators of heavy equipment are told to take their first doses of possible drowsiness-causing medicines while not at work.
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Glenn Reynolds hits on a pretty interesting ethical question here, though from the opposite direction -- if these drugs improve performance, is it malpractice to NOT take them? As a physician, are you doing everything you can for your patient if you choose to not boost your brainpower?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe military has it's fighter pilots take modifinil (pro vigil) to stay sharp on long missions so why shouldn't physicians? II use modifinil on long driving trips as I have fallen asleep at the wheel twice. I am an anesthesiologist and occasionionally have used it on myself during 12 hour surgeries. After all I am paid to be vigilent.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIn the 12 hour surgeries That I did when I was in practice, I had no trouble staying awake and alert. Adrenalin works very well for that. Assistant surgeons and anesthesiologists may need something. One of my favorite assistants, an internist who liked to scrub used to sing opera and that did a good job for the rest of the OR staff.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIf doctors or others use performance drugs, I guess it'd be time to let athletes use 'em, too. And what about folks in combat?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbusePeople in combat already take performance drugs (e.g. stimulants).
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"It is by will alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the juice of sapho that thoughts acquire speed, the lips acquire stains, the stains become a warning. It is by will alone I set my mind in motion."
Seems appropriate...
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI suppose Viagra is a performance-enhancing drug.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI wonder if this has been tested on Alzheimer's patients?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe dilemma in doctors, nurses or other healthcare professionals taking PEDs, i.e. modafinil, ritalin, etc.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuseis several-fold. First, what happens when these agents wear off? Most pharmaceuticals produced effects when withdrawn, overt or not. Second, the adage "Be careful what you wish for," applies. It isn't far-fetched to envision a time when all docs take these agents; gotta keep up with the Joneses, right? And what happens when such agents are "proven" to enhance performace? Will the govt. or employers begin requiring their use?
I think ProVigil's effects are clinically significant mostly for the sleep-impaired. If I recall correctly, it modulates dopamine and norepinephrine primarily, although not to the extent that amphetamines do. Because it has no effect on acetylcholine, it is of no value in Alzheimer's.
Donepezil, OTOH, an AZ drug, has been shown to enhance cognition in normal subjects by improving memory.
Then there are the classic stimulants--speed. A little bit of amphetamines would probably enhance everyone's performance. The adverse events associated with stimulants has made them controlled substances.
Whatever you think of enhancing mental performance, we have wisely chosen to let a bloated, risk-averse and inefficient bureaucracy make such decisions for us.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAnyone look at the pricing of this stuff??? Try medical distributor cost of $4,474.00 for 100 pills 200mg. !!! Clearly meant only for the "special" people. Sorry, I don't even know any doctors that could afford this.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHmmm. For the price of 100 brain pills you could almost afford to take a class on "Visual Representations of the Subaltern Pudendum in the Architecture of Gehry" at Tisch School of Art.
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