Meclofenoxate also known as centrophenoxine, is a drug

Drug

A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.In pharmacology, a...

 used to treat the symptoms of senile dementia

Dementia

Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...

 and Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...

. It is an ester

Ester

Esters are chemical compounds derived by reacting an oxoacid with a hydroxyl compound such as an alcohol or phenol. Esters are usually derived from an inorganic acid or organic acid in which at least one -OH group is replaced by an -O-alkyl group, and most commonly from carboxylic acids and...

 of dimethylethanolamine

Dimethylethanolamine

Dimethylaminoethanol, also known as DMAE or dimethylethanolamine, is an organic compound. This compound also goes by the names of N,N-dimethyl-2-aminoethanol, beta-dimethylaminoethyl alcohol, beta-hydroxyethyldimethylamine and Deanol. It is a clear, pale-yellow liquid.- Industrial uses...

 (DMAE) and 4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (pCPA). DMAE is a natural substance, found especially in fish. pCPA is a synthetic compound that resembles a variety of plant hormones called auxin

Auxin

Auxins are a class of plant hormones with some morphogen-like characteristics. Auxins have a cardinal role in coordination of many growth and behavioral processes in the plant's life cycle and are essential for plant body development. Auxins and their role in plant growth were first described by...

s.

In elderly patients, it has been clinically shown to improve memory

Memory

In psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing memory....

, have a mentally stimulating effect, and improve general cognition

Cognition

In science, cognition refers to mental processes. These processes include attention, remembering, producing and understanding language, solving problems, and making decisions. Cognition is studied in various disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science...

. Meclofenoxate also increases cellular membrane phospholipids.

It is also used off-label as a nootropic

Nootropic

Nootropics , also referred to as smart drugs, brain steroids, memory enhancers, cognitive enhancers, and intelligence enhancers, are drugs, supplements, nutraceuticals, and functional foods that improve mental functions such as cognition, memory, intelligence, motivation, attention, and concentration...

, often combined with a racetam

Racetam

Racetams are a class of nootropic drugs that share a pyrrolidone nucleus.-Mechanism:There is no generally accepted mechanism for racetams. They generally show no affinity for the most important receptors, although modulation of most important central neurotransmitters, including acetylcholine and...

 drug such as piracetam

Piracetam

Piracetam is a nootropic drug. Piracetam's chemical name is 2-oxo-1-pyrrolidine acetamide; it shares the same 2-oxo-pyrrolidone base structure with 2-oxo-pyrrolidine carboxylic acid . Piracetam is a cyclic derivative of GABA. It is one of the group of racetams...

. A typical nootropic dose is 250–3000 mg taken in 1 or more doses.

Side effects and contraindications

Meclofenoxate is generally considered safe. However possible side effects may include nausea or mild dizziness. People with severely high blood pressure or convulsive disorders such as epilepsy

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...

should avoid meclofenoxate. Large doses may cause tight jaw clenching.