According to the study undertaken by the U.K Academy of Medical Sciences, which was commissioned by the British Government in the year 2006, to survey the implications of expected progress in brain sciences and drug research, has come out with a startling report.
Schools and Universities could soon be facing a different kind of drug problem : A rise in the students taking brain enhancing pills to boost their exam results.
British government advisers have warned that new drugs to treat conditions as varied as Alzheimer’s disease, attention deficit disorder and narcolepsy are in danger of being misused by students eager to bump up their grades.
The use of brain-boosting drugs many of which are designed to improve memory and attention span in people with serious degenerative brain diseases, could become as big a problem for the education system as performance-enhancing drugs are in sport, the experts from the U.KAcademy of Medical Sciences said.
Their report further urges the government to be alert to the misuse of ‘cognitive-enhancers’ and to prepare the ground for regulations and even urine tests to control their use in schools, universities and in workplaces.
Since the drugs are designed to be taken by people with dementia and other serious disorders, there is scant data on how safe or effective they are if taken by healthy people, the report warns.
The scientists behind the report identified six categories of drugs, already available on prescription, which claim to boost brain function. These include modafinil which is used to treat Narcolepsy, Ritalin and related amphetamines for attention deficit disorder and donepazil for Alzheimer’s disease.