Giurgea

Corneliu E. Giurgea (1924–1995) was a Romanian-born chemist and pharmacologist best known for synthesizing the cognitive enhancer piracetam and for coining the term nootropic. While working at the Belgian pharmaceutical company UCB in the 1960s, he developed piracetam, a cyclic derivative of gamma-aminobutyric acid that later became the prototype of a class of drugs he described as nootropics. In 1972 Giurgea introduced the word nootropic to characterize compounds that improve learning and memory with minimal side effects, setting them apart from classical psychotropic or neurotoxic agents.

Giurgea proposed a set of criteria for nootropics to meet. A true nootropic should enhance learning and memory; increase the brain’s resistance to disruptive conditions such as stress or hypoxia; protect the brain from physical or chemical injury; and exhibit minimal adverse effects and toxicity, lacking the typical pharmacological downsides of other brain-active drugs. These criteria have guided subsequent discussion of nootropics, though they have also been debated as broader substances have been marketed under the label.

Piracetam has been studied for various cognitive impairments and neurological conditions, with mixed results. Some clinical contexts, including certain types of cognitive decline and myoclonus, have shown modest benefits, while evidence for enhancement in healthy individuals remains limited. Today, nootropic products span a wide range of compounds, but Giurgea’s original concept continues to influence the discourse on cognitive enhancers and brain aging.