> What's the quality of Russian medical research versus western? Generally speaking - not great. There are some interesting Russian compounds out there that s

> What's the quality of Russian medical research versus western? Generally speaking - not great. There are some interesting Russian compounds out there that seem to do something, but they always fall way short of the miraculous effects shown in old Russian studies. Old Russian pharmaceuticals have actually been a gold mine for supplement sellers in the past two decades because they're basically unregulated pharmaceuticals that can be marketed in the United States and other countries while pointing customers to questionable Russian studies to promote them. If you browse Nootropics forums, you can find scores of people who tried the various compounds. Few people seem to continue any of them for very long either due to lack of primary effects or growing side effects. As I said, the Russian studies paint a very optimistic picture of the drugs. Look at it this way: If any of these old compounds were really miracle drugs, the big pharmaceutical companies would be rushing to get them to market in the United States with some creative patented exclusivity. But none of them have taken any of these compounds past the early research phases. Similar story in other countries. Some potentially interesting compounds, but you have to take the studies with a huge grain of salt.