Supplement
Bromantane is a synthetic compound developed in Russia that appears to raise the brain's dopamine-making machinery, based on rat studies. People mostly look at it for asthenia, the exhaustion and weakness seen in neurasthenia, and the evidence is moderate: several trials, including a placebo-controlled one, found symptoms eased. Most other claims, such as for anxiety or physical performance, rest largely on animal work, and the human studies were fairly small and short.
Sources: PMID 20559263; PMID 21322821
- Updated
- How we grade
- 10 studies cited
- Best evidence
- Grade B
- Conditions studied
- 4
- Outcomes
- 6
- Graded outcomes
- 0141
Evidence by condition
- Strong
- Moderate
- Limited
- Very limited
| Grade | Outcome | Effect | Size | Studies | People | Studies list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asthenia Symptoms PubMed-indexed clinical studies report anti-asthenic effects of bromantane in neurasthenia/psychogenic asthenia. A multicenter open-label study (n=76; PMID: 20559263) and a multicenter double-blind placebo-controlled study (n=156; PMID: 21322821) reported reduced asthenic symptoms with 50-100 mg/day for 28 days. An additional clinical report (PMID: 19491814) is directionally consistent. | Improves (the measure goes down) | Moderate effect | 3 studies | 232 people | ||
| Grade | Outcome | Effect | Size | Studies | People | Studies list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anxiety Symptoms Anxiolytic effects are supported by one placebo-controlled asthenia trial showing reduced anxiety symptoms (PMID: 21322821), a supporting clinical report (PMID: 19491814), and rat behavioral data showing anxiolytic effects without prominent locomotor stimulation at tested doses (PMID: 16047669). Clinical anxiety-specific RCT data remain limited. | Improves (the measure goes down) | Small effect | 3 studies | 156 people | ||
General Athletic Performance
- Physical Work Capacity (Primarily Preclinical): improves
| Grade | Outcome | Effect | Size | Studies | People | Studies list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physical Work Capacity (Primarily Preclinical) Evidence for improved physical work capacity is mostly preclinical. Animal studies under repeated extreme exercise conditions reported higher work capacity with bromantane (PMID: 9929819; PMID: 10934588). A human operator study reported improved psychophysiological restoration under fatigue conditions versus placebo (PMID: 10998997), but evidence remains limited for general athletic performance. | Improves (the measure goes up) | Moderate effect | 3 studies | |||
Studies that measured physical work capacity (primarily preclinical)
| ||||||
General
- Dependence/Withdrawal Signs (Short-Term)
- Dopamine Synthesis (TH/AADC Expression): improves
| Grade | Outcome | Effect | Size | Studies | People | Studies list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dependence/Withdrawal Signs (Short-Term) Short-term clinical studies (up to 28 days) reported no clear withdrawal syndrome or addiction-like signs after bromantane treatment in asthenic populations (PMID: 19491814; PMID: 20559263; PMID: 21322821). This supports short-term tolerability but does not establish long-term dependence risk. | NoneNo effect | 3 studies | 232 people | |||
Studies that measured dependence/withdrawal signs (short-term) | ||||||
| Dopamine Synthesis (TH/AADC Expression) Preclinical rat studies indicate bromantane upregulates dopamine synthesis machinery. Repeated administration increased tyrosine hydroxylase and/or aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase expression in dopaminergic regions (PMID: 15500036) and altered striatal dopamine synthesis/catabolism (PMID: 7580761). Evidence is mechanistic and animal-based. | Improves (the measure goes up) | Moderate effect | 2 studies | |||
Studies that measured dopamine synthesis (th/aadc expression) | ||||||
Cognitive Function
- Cognitive/Psychomotor Performance: improves
| Grade | Outcome | Effect | Size | Studies | People | Studies list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cognitive/Psychomotor Performance Limited human experimental data suggest bromantane may improve selected psychophysiological or operator-performance measures under fatigue (PMID: 10998997) and modulate EEG rhythms consistent with CNS activation (PMID: 19642584). Evidence is preliminary and not based on large cognitive endpoint trials. | Improves (the measure goes up) | Small effect | 2 studies | |||
Studies that measured cognitive/psychomotor performance | ||||||
Key findings
- Asthenia SymptomsImproves (the measure goes down)
- Anxiety SymptomsImproves (the measure goes down)
- Physical Work Capacity (Primarily Preclinical)Improves (the measure goes up)
Safety notes in the studies
- This supports short-term tolerability but does not establish long-term dependence risk.
Shop the evidence-backed picks
Third-party tested Bromantane products, in the forms the graded studies used where we can match them.
- Grade B
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Studies cited
10 studies from PubMed
- Clinical efficacy of ladasten in treatment of asthenic disorders in patients with neurasthenia.
- Psychopharmacological effects and safety profile of Ladasten in patients with psychogenic asthenia.
- [Ladasten as a means to treat asthenic disorders].
- Effect of bromantane on electroencephalographic power spectra in healthy human subjects.
- The psychotropic profile of bromantane, a novel anxioselective anxiolytic.
- Effects of bromantane on transcriptional expression of tyrosine hydroxylase and aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase genes in the rat brain.
- Effects of bromantane and bemitil on operant behavior and locomotor activity in rats.
- A comparison of bromantane and placebo effects on physical and psychophysiological capabilities of tired healthy operators.
- Effect of ladasten and bemethyl on physical working capacity and immunological resistance in animals under repeated extreme exercise loads.
- Effect of bromantane on synthesis, release and catabolism of dopamine and serotonin in rat striatum.