Biomaterial Database

A trial of piracetam in two subgroups of students with dyslexia enrolled in summer tutoring. 1991

P T Ackerman, and R A Dykman, and C Holloway, and N P Paal, and M Y Gocio

Department of Psychiatry, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock.

Sixty children with dyslexia (41 boys, 19 girls; ages 9 to 13) were enrolled in a 10-week summer tutoring program that emphasized word-building skills. They were randomly and blindly assigned to receive either placebo or piracetam, a purportedly memory-enhancing drug that has been reported to facilitate reading skill acquisition. The children were subtyped as "dysphonetic" or "phonetic" on the basis of scores from tests of phonological sensitivity and phoneme-grapheme correspondence skills. Of the 53 children who completed the program, 37 were classified as dysphonetic and 16 as phonetic. The phonetic group improved significantly more in word-recognition ability than the dysphonetic group. Overall, the children on medication did not improve more than the nonmedicated ones in any aspect of reading. The phonetic subgroup on piracetam gained more in word recognition than any subgroup but did not improve significantly more than the phonetic subgroup on placebo. Results are discussed in relation to findings from previous studies of piracetam in children with dyslexia.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D010700	Phonetics	The science or study of speech sounds and their production, transmission, and reception, and their analysis, classification, and transcription. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)	Speech Sounds,Sound, Speech,Sounds, Speech,Speech Sound
D010889	Piracetam	A compound suggested to be both a nootropic and a neuroprotective agent.	2-Pyrrolidone-N-Acetamide,Avigilen,Axonyl,Cerebroforte,Cerepar N,Ciclofalina,Cuxabrain,Dinagen,Gabacet,Geram,Memo-Puren,Nootrop,Nootropil,Nootropyl,Normabraïn,Piracebral,Piracetam AbZ,Piracetam-RPh,Piracetrop,Pirazetam,Pyracetam,Pyramem,Sinapsan,UCB-6215,Memo Puren,Piracetam RPh,UCB 6215,UCB6215
D012073	Remedial Teaching	Specialized instruction for students deviating from the expected norm.	Remedial Teachings,Teaching, Remedial,Teachings, Remedial
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D003131	Combined Modality Therapy	The treatment of a disease or condition by several different means simultaneously or sequentially. Chemoimmunotherapy, RADIOIMMUNOTHERAPY, chemoradiotherapy, cryochemotherapy, and SALVAGE THERAPY are seen most frequently, but their combinations with each other and surgery are also used.	Multimodal Treatment,Therapy, Combined Modality,Combined Modality Therapies,Modality Therapies, Combined,Modality Therapy, Combined,Multimodal Treatments,Therapies, Combined Modality,Treatment, Multimodal,Treatments, Multimodal
D004410	Dyslexia	A cognitive disorder characterized by an impaired ability to comprehend written and printed words or phrases despite intact vision. This condition may be developmental or acquired. Developmental dyslexia is marked by reading achievement that falls substantially below that expected given the individual's chronological age, measured intelligence, and age-appropriate education. The disturbance in reading significantly interferes with academic achievement or with activities of daily living that require reading skills. (From DSM-IV)	Alexia,Dyslexia, Developmental,Reading Disability, Developmental,Reading Disorder,Reading Disorder, Developmental,Developmental Reading Disorder,Word Blindness,Alexias,Blindness, Word,Blindnesses, Word,Developmental Dyslexia,Developmental Dyslexias,Developmental Reading Disabilities,Developmental Reading Disability,Developmental Reading Disorders,Disabilities, Developmental Reading,Disability, Developmental Reading,Disorder, Developmental Reading,Disorder, Reading,Disorders, Developmental Reading,Disorders, Reading,Dyslexias,Dyslexias, Developmental,Reading Disabilities, Developmental,Reading Disorders,Reading Disorders, Developmental,Word Blindnesses
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000293	Adolescent	A person 13 to 18 years of age.	Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths