science
Pitolisant Improved Memory Accuracy by 11 Percent in Small Human Trial but May Disrupt Sleep
A small randomized study found that pitolisant, an existing narcolepsy drug, raised histamine levels and improved recall accuracy. Participants showed greater brain connectivity between histamine-producing regions and the hippocampus during MRI scans. The results were published in Nature Communications.
Jul 13, 7:43 PM·1m read1 source
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Pitolisant improved memory accuracy by 11 percent in a trial of 60 volunteers who received either the drug or a placebo. The medication, already approved for narcolepsy, raises histamine levels in the brain by binding to histamine 3 receptors. Volunteers underwent MRI scans while completing memory tests.
Those given pitolisant displayed stronger connectivity between histamine-producing brain areas and the hippocampus, a region tied to memory formation. They retrieved information learned during the scans with greater accuracy than the placebo group. Michael Colwell of the University of Oxford, who led the work, said the drug appears to heighten novelty-linked arousal.
He cautioned against using pitolisant as a smart drug, noting it would likely disrupt sleep and impair long-term memory. Patients already taking pitolisant for narcolepsy or Prader-Willi syndrome have reported better attention and alertness, according to Holger Stark of Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, who helped develop the drug.
Stark said the compound typically restores impaired function rather than enhancing cognition beyond normal levels.
Roland Seifert of Hannover Medical School said the human data align with earlier animal findings and could increase interest in targeting histamine receptors for brain disorders. The study appeared in Nature Communications with the DOI 10.1038/s41467-026-73865-9.
