Olmifon – Throw away the coffee, Olmifon is here.

We all suffer from times when we know that we’re just not at our best. Our minds feel slow and sluggish - as if we’re not really fully awake and alert. For many of us, reaching for the coffee pot is the most obvious solution. That hit of coffee laden with caffeine is often just what we need to wake us up mentally. And that shouldn’t be at all surprising given that caffeine stimulates the central nervous system, alleviates fatigue, increases wakefulness, and improves concentration and focus. No wonder it’s such a popular stimulant.

But even though drinking coffee on the face of it seems pretty harmless, it can pose real health problems. For most healthy adults, moderate doses of caffeine (around 200 to 300 milligrams (mg), which equates roughly to about two to four cups of brewed coffee a day) shouldn’t be harmful but many people consume far more than that. And heavy daily caffeine use (more than 500-600mg a day) can result in some rather unpleasant side effects such as nervousness, irritability, insomnia, stomach upsets, speeding heart rates and muscle tremors. And if you are unfortunate enough to be one of those people who is especially sensitive to caffeine then even just one cup of coffee can be enough to bring on such unwanted side effects. Other factors may also affect your responses to caffeine - research even suggests that men are more susceptible to the effects of caffeine than are women.

By now you are probably thinking that coffee isn’t perhaps as harmless as you once thought and may not be the best way to give you the ‘wake-up’ that you might need from time to time. Fortunately there is an alternative and it comes in the form of Olmifon† - an amazing, and effective stimulant that can give you the mental boost you’re looking.

So just what is Olmifon?

Olmifon (the brand name for adrafinil) is a mild central nervous system stimulant that bears the rather complex chemical name of 2-(Diphenylmethyl) sulfinyl acetohydroxamic acid. It belongs to a unique chemical class of psychoactive stimulant drugs called eugeroics. This class is currently very small containing as it does only two eugeroic medications namely adrafinil (sold under the name Olmifon®) and modafinil (sold as Provigil®) - both of which were originally developed by the French pharmaceutical company Lafon Laboratories (adrafinil is the forerunner of modafinil).

The term eugeroics is relatively new to the scene having been first introduced by the French Emeritus Professor of Experimental Medicine at the University of Lyon, Michel Jouvet, in his 1987 study into what he referred to as eugrégoriques. The actual word eugeroic itself is derived from the Greek language and quite simply means ‘good arousal’. This is a very apt name for this class of medications because, as we discuss in more detail below, it perfectly describes the remarkable type of stimulation that these drugs produce. In fact, it is this unique form of stimulation that puts eugeroics into a class of their own rather than being grouped together with other more traditional stimulants. Indeed, eugeroics are sometimes referred to as “wakefulness promoting agents”.

What type of stimulation does Olmifon produce?

As we’ve already said, the thing that really sets eugeroics apart is the type of stimulation that they produce. Olmifon is effective and only provides stimulation when stimulation is actually required. This means that when people first take Olmifon they often comment that having taken it they can’t tell any difference. It doesn’t give you that instant hit that say a cup of strong coffee can provide. But several hours later, you’ll suddenly realize that your attention, focus and mental alertness haven’t faded at all. In fact, you’re just as alert as you ever were. And this really is one of the true beauties of Olmifon - the ‘highs and lows’ associated with taking other more traditional stimulants such as amphetamine simply don’t exist when you take Olmifon. Instead you are generally just more alert, focused and mentally awake.

And yet Olmifon won’t interfere with your normal sleeping patterns. Unlike other stimulants, eugeroics don’t leave you feeling so ‘wired’ that sleep is simply impossible while their effects are still present. Even coffee at night time can have this effect on some people. And, of course, when you take other more traditional stimulants you often find that as their effects wear off, you experience a huge dip and have to have compensatory sleep to make up for the additional time that you’ve stayed awake. These ups and downs not just in mood, alertness and focus but also in sleeping habits simply don’t exist when you take Olmifon. Instead, Olmifon only provides you with the stimulation as and when you want it. If you need to be mentally alert, focused and fully awake you will be - but if you want to wind down and sleep, Olmifon will allow you to do that too.

So how does Olmifon work?

Although Olmifon has such a unique stimulant action, there is still some way to go in fully understanding how this remarkable stimulant works. It is widely believed that Olmifon works as a unique and highly selective agonist of brain postsynaptic receptor sites called alpha-1 adrenergic receptors. These alpha-1 adrenergic sites are receptive to the neurotransmitter noradrenaline (also known as norepinephrine or NE).

Neurotransmitters are chemicals that work in the brain to allow messages to be passed between neurons (the cells of the nervous system). Scientists have estimated that there are probably around 100 billion neurons within the human brain. They work by passing impulses along pathways formed in the brain between different neurons. But although they need to communicate with each other, neurons in the brain don’t actually touch each other. Instead they are separated by tiny gaps known as synapses. When an impulse reaches the end of a neuron and needs to pass it on to the next neuron, chemicals are released to effectively ferry the impulse across the gap. These chemicals are neurotransmitters. There are a number of different neurotransmitter chemicals and they will only attach to specific receptor sites on the receiving neuron. It’s a bit like a lock and key system so for example only dopamine neurotransmitters will attach to dopamine receptor sites.

And it is these receptor sites, and specifically alpha-1 adrenergic receptors, that appear to be crucial in the way in which Olmifon acts upon the brain. As a selective agonist, Olmifon appears to be able to selectively stimulate the receptiveness of the brain’s adrenergic receptors to noradrenaline. This means that Olmifon increases the uptake of noradrenaline.

And it appears to be this action that produces the positive effects of Olmifon because noradrenaline is implicated in a number of important areas to do with learning, alertness and wakefulness. In particular, noradrenaline is known to be involved in the regulation of the sleep/wake cycle and alertness as well as having a role to play in the maintenance of attention, memory, learning and neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the lifelong ability of the brain to reorganize neural pathways based on new experiences. As we learn, we acquire new knowledge and skills through instruction or experience. In order to learn or memorize a fact or skill, there must be persistent functional changes in the brain that represent the new knowledge and it is this ability of the brain to change with learning that is known as neuroplasticity. Nordrenaline may even have neuroprotective qualities.

And it appears to be the fact that it is selective, working only to stimulate these specific receptor sites that gives Olmifon its unique characteristics. By contrast, conventional stimulants stimulate a much broader range of brain receptors.

We shouldn’t though overlook the fact that more recent research that has suggested at least two other possibilities as to how Olmifon may work. Researchers have suggested that Olmifon may work by increasing cerebral metabolism or by modifying the intra-cerebral release of amino acids. Unfortunately, though, research into Olmifon remains in its infancy. Most of the work that has been undertaken is European based - particularly in France - which means that much of the scientific literature is published in French. The studies have also been fairly limited in their aspects of research focusing mainly upon the vigilance promoting and mood enhancing effects of Olmifon in the elderly.

But whatever the cause of action, the effects cannot be denied with Olmifon perhaps offering the most perfect stimulation currently available.

Why is Olmifon the perfect stimulant?

As we’ve already discussed the unique action of Olmifon means that, unlike more conventional stimulants, Olmifon will only provide you with the stimulation that you want when you want it. The result of this is that if you take Olmifon because you want to stay awake, alert and vigilant for long periods of time then that’s exactly what you’ll be able to do without feeling sleepy or feeling any of the effects of fatigue. Conversely, if you still want sleep as normal, then Olmifon allows you to do this as it doesn’t interfere with your normal sleep patterns or induce any form of insomnia.

But the benefits don’t just end there. Not only does Olmifon keep you alert, awake and vigilant if that’s what you want, it also helps to improve your cognitive function, mental focus, memory and ability to learn. Olmifon also helps to banish the effects of fatigue and improve your energy levels.

Olmifon takes around 45 minutes to an hour from taking it to ‘work’ with the benefit building up over a period of days. And, as we’ve already mentioned, its effects are so gentle that most people would struggle to tell that they had actually taken a stimulant. But once they require stimulation, then Olmifon will provide them with just what they need.

And Olmifon manages to do all this without the highs and lows that using more conventional stimulants bring. With its gentle action, Olmifon avoids all the more unpleasant side effects commonly associated with using stimulants such as getting the jitters or feeling euphoric and then crashing. Your heart rate won’t suddenly speed up - nor will your blood pressure climb.

Add to this the fact that Olmifon is non-habit forming with an extremely low risk of developing into an addiction and it’s easy to see why Olmifon can justifiably be described as the perfect stimulant.

What else is Olmifon used for?

With research into Olmifon focusing mainly on the elderly, Olmifon is particularly recommended for elderly patients who have difficulty staying alert and who suffer from a general slowing down of mental activity.

Olmifon is also approved throughout Europe for the treatment of the sleeping disorder narcolepsy. Indeed, Olmifon was initially developed in the 1980s as a treatment for the condition. Narcolepsy is characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, even if adequate night time sleep is being achieved. Narcoleptics often find themselves becoming very drowsy or even fall asleep several times during the day, with the need to sleep being physically irresistible.

Olmifon may also be used to treat other sleeping disorders such as hypersomnia (excessive sleep) and cataplexy (a condition that leads to sudden muscular weakness or fatigue).

Dosage

It is suggested that you should take one or two 300mg tablets twice a day. However, Olmifon should not be taken continuously without liver enzyme blood tests.

Side effects

Even though Olmifon is incredibly gentle, it is a medicine and, as with all medicines, some people may experience side effects. Very occasionally using Olmifon may cause headaches, stomach pains and skin irritations, and in certain cases, feelings of inner tension. Due to the fact that the metabolites of Olmifon contain sulphur, you may also notice that your urine develops a particular odor.

In addition, long term use may also result in some people having elevated liver enzymes, specifically SGOT, SGPT, GGPT and hepatic alkaline phosphatise. Therefore, if you intend to take Olmifon over a long period of time, it is important that you have your liver function tested before you begin taking Olmifon in order to establish a baseline reading. You should then have your liver enzymes tested after 3 months and then every 6 months thereafter. If any abnormalities do appear, simply reducing your dosage or stopping Olmifon altogether should see your liver enzymes return to normal.

Consult your doctor before taking Olmifon if you suffer from epilepsy, or serious hepatic or renal disorders.

Warnings

In 2004, Olmifon and its close relative modafinil were added to the list of substances prohibited for athletic competition according to the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Acknowledgements

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