Bromantane (Ladasten): evidence, Russian approval, doping

Key points

• Bromantane is a Russian-developed adamantane derivative sold in Russia as Ladasten for asthenia (a state of abnormal fatigue). A Russian drug reference lists it for asthenic states of various origin and for neurasthenia [1].
• The human evidence is small, Russian and mostly in abstracts: one randomized blinded placebo-controlled trial of unstated size [3] and one open-label trial with no control group in 728 patients [2]. We found no Western replication.
• The dopamine story rests on rat studies. They point to increased dopamine synthesis, not to direct receptor action. The serotonin evidence conflicts [5][6][8][9].
• It was at the centre of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics doping cases. We could not open the court award or the current WADA list, so those points are flagged below.
• Verdicts: dex7official’s C-tier placement is an opinion that the evidence neither confirms nor refutes. theriac33’s “dopamine loves” label is partly supported by rat data and not supported by any human dopamine measurement we found.

What is bromantane?

Bromantane is N-(4-bromophenyl)-2-adamantanamine, an amine built on the adamantane cage that memantine also uses [5]. Reviews group it with “actoprotectors”, drugs meant to sustain performance under strain. A 2012 review says it was formulated after bemitil, a drug developed in the 1970s at the Military Medical Academy in the USSR under Vinogradov [10]. The same review says its use after 1991 was mainly in sports medicine, and that it is made in Russia as Ladasten [10].

The early pharmacology came from the Institute of Pharmacology of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences in Moscow, per the affiliation on 1999 papers by Morozov and colleagues [11][12]. Those papers describe stimulant-like behaviour in animals and a “dopamine-positive” profile [11][12]. We did not open a source giving the exact year of the first synthesis or the drug’s military development, so we do not state them.

What is it approved for?

Russia (reference page updated 6 December 2023). Vidal, a commercial drug reference, lists Ladasten tablets for asthenic states of various origin, including those linked to physical illness or following infections, and for neurasthenia (ICD-10 F48.0). It gives a registration number dated 16 May 2024 with unlimited validity (previous number ЛСР-010257/08) and a registration holder named as LEKKO [1]. Contraindications listed are pregnancy, breastfeeding, age under 18 and hypersensitivity. Reported effects are signs of overactivation, trouble falling asleep and allergic reactions [1]. We read Vidal, not the state register itself, and did not check the registry directly. A search result claimed the brand was discontinued in 2018; we found no primary source for that and do not repeat it as fact.

What do the studies show?

Study	Design and size	Reported result	Funding
Neznamov et al., 2009 [3]	Randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled; neurasthenia; washout, 28 days of drug or placebo, then 1 week of placebo. Size not in the abstract	Faster and larger reduction of asthenic symptoms than placebo; no withdrawal syndrome reported	Not stated in the record
Voznesenskaia et al., 2010 [2]	Open-label, no control group; 28 Russian centres; 728 analysable patients with psychoautonomic syndrome; 28 days plus 1 month follow-up	Responders 76.0% (CGI-S) and 90.8% (CGI-I); adverse effects in 3%, 0.8% stopped	Not stated in the record
Siuniakov et al., 2006 [4]	Pilot trial in psychogenic asthenic disorder; size not in the abstract	Authors report stimulant and anxiolytic effects	Not stated in the record

Three limits apply. The large trial had no placebo arm, so expectation and rater bias cannot be separated from drug effect. Funders are not named in the abstracts, and the authors’ own conclusions are favourable. Full texts, which might name sponsors and sample sizes, were not available to us. The PubMed record also lists work on non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and other conditions in Russian journals; we saw titles only and do not report their results.

How well supported is the dopamine and serotonin mechanism?

All of the mechanistic work we found is in rats or cell preparations, and most is from Russian groups.

• Dopamine synthesis. A 2004 rat paper reports that a single administration raised expression of tyrosine hydroxylase and DOPA decarboxylase (enzymes that make dopamine), along with L-DOPA and dopamine in striatum and hypothalamus [6]. A 2007 paper from the Leibniz Institute in Magdeburg, Germany, independently found changed tyrosine hydroxylase mRNA and protein plus altered dopamine and L-DOPA content, and a dopamine-dependent strengthening of synaptic potentiation in hippocampal slices [5]. A 2010 blockade experiment found raised L-DOPA in most brain regions, which the authors read as support for action on tyrosine hydroxylase [9]. This is the best-supported element, though still rodent data from single-dose experiments.
• Reuptake and receptors. A 2010 study found no direct effect on dopamine D1-D3 or serotonin 5-HT1A/2A receptors, and weak dopamine uptake inhibition in synaptosomes (IC50 3.56 micromolar, against 28.66 nanomolar for sydnocarb) [8]. So “increases dopamine synthesis” is not the same as “acts like a stimulant reuptake blocker”.
• Serotonin. A 1995 rat study reported higher serotonin and 5-HIAA in frontal cortex and lower levels in cerebellum [7]. The 2010 study found no influence on serotonin formation in striatum or frontal cortex [8]. A 1999 paper reported inhibition of serotonin uptake at 50 micromolar in vitro [11]. These results disagree, and no human work we found measured either transmitter. The 2012 review calls the serotonin effect “assumed” rather than established [10].

The 1996 Olympic doping cases and the WADA list

A 1997 Lancet note titled “Bromontan, a new doping agent” (Burnat and colleagues) documents that the drug was detected in athletes’ samples [13]. We saw only its PubMed record, not the text. The 2012 review says anti-doping rules have banned its sports use since 1997 and that metabolites can remain in urine for roughly two weeks [10].

News and court records indexed by search engines say two Russian medallists, swimmer Andrei Korneev and wrestler Zakhar Gouliev, were disqualified at Atlanta 1996 after positive tests, and that the CAS ad hoc division allowed their appeals on 4 August 1996. Secondary accounts attribute this to bromantane not being clearly listed at the time. We could not open the award (the host returned HTTP 451, and other copies returned 403), so the reasoning, the medal outcome and the number of athletes tested positive (sources disagree) are not verified here.

We also could not open the current WADA Prohibited List text. Search results suggest bromantane appears under S6 stimulants, but we could not confirm the sub-section (specified or non-specified) and give no claim on it. Athletes should consult the official list.

Regulatory status elsewhere

• Russia: prescription tablets for asthenia, as above [1].
• Canada (Health Canada advisory, 19 July 2024): “not authorized in Canada for any use”; no authorized drug contains it; it has not been reviewed for safety, effectiveness or quality [14].
• United States, EU, UK, Germany: we found no approval and no regulatory document in these searches, and we did not query Drugs@FDA, the EMA, the MHRA or BfArM directly. Treat these as not checked.
• “Research use only” is a seller label, not a regulatory category. Material sold that way has no marketing authorization and no manufacturing oversight comparable to a medicine.

Risks and unknowns

• Documented effects: in the 728-patient trial, adverse effects occurred in 3% [2]. The Russian label lists overactivation, sleep-onset problems and allergy [1].
• Interactions: the label says it reduces the hypnotic effect of thiopental sodium and does not weaken the anxiolytic effect of benzodiazepines [1]. Nothing else was found.
• Populations: pregnancy, breastfeeding and under-18s are contraindicated in Russia [1]. Animal work on reproduction and development exists (titles only seen); human data on these are absent from what we read.
• Animal toxicity: in rats, single very high doses (hundreds of mg/kg and above) first stimulated, then suppressed behaviour, with pupil dilation and, at the highest doses, regurgitation, diarrhoea and polyuria [15].
• Not studied: long-term human use, healthy-adult cognition, dependence in controlled trials (the placebo trial only reports no withdrawal syndrome over its short follow-up [3]), and independent replication outside Russia. Sport testing means a positive result is possible for competitors.

What do the source posts claim?

dex7official, 20 October 2026. A tier-list image titled “The only true cognitive enhancement tier list (no copes edition)” places bromantane in C with ZYN, L-tyrosine, memantine, CDP-choline, selegiline, noopept, tadalafil and coffee [16]. The image is read from the project’s transcription. The post cites no evidence. Verdict: could not be verified. A tier is a ranking of opinion. What can be checked is that there is a licensed Russian use and some controlled data in asthenia, but none in healthy adults [1][3]. See the tier-list evidence check.

theriac33, 2 November 2026. A “What your dopamine loves” graphic lists bromantane with 9-ME-BC, P-5-P, L-tyrosine, exercise, modafinil and others [17]. Verdict: partly supported. Rat studies show higher dopamine synthesis markers [5][6][9], but receptor and uptake data are weak [8], and we found no human measurement of dopamine after bromantane. More in the dopamine claims check.

Frequently asked questions

Is bromantane approved anywhere? Russia lists Ladasten for asthenic states and neurasthenia, per a Russian drug reference [1]. Health Canada says no drug containing it is authorized there [14]. We did not check the US, EU, UK or Germany.

Does it raise dopamine in people? We found no human study measuring that. Rat studies report raised dopamine and L-DOPA, and the effect on synthesis enzymes is the best-supported part of the mechanism [5][6][9].

Why was it in the 1996 Olympic news? Athletes tested positive at the Atlanta Games and a 1997 Lancet note called it a new doping agent [13]. Details of the court decision are unverified here.

Is the evidence strong? It is limited. One blinded placebo-controlled trial and one large open-label trial, both Russian and reported in abstracts we could read [2][3].

Sources

1. Vidal, “Ладастен (Ladasten) tablets” (page updated 2023-12-06). https://www.vidal.ru/drugs/ladasten__20677
2. Voznesenskaia TG, Fokina NM, Iakhno NN, “Treatment of asthenic disorders in patients with psychoautonomic syndrome: results of a multicenter study on efficacy and safety of ladasten”, Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova 110(5 Pt 1):17-26 (2010). PubMed 21322821, read via NCBI E-utilities. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21322821/
3. Neznamov GG et al., “Ladasten, the new drug with psychostimulant and anxiolytic actions in treatment of neurasthenia (comparative clinical study with placebo)”, Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova (2009). PubMed 19491814. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19491814/
4. Siuniakov SA et al., “Pilot clinical trial of ladasten”, Eksp Klin Farmakol (2006). PubMed 16995430. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16995430/
5. Mikhaylova M et al., “The effects of ladasten on dopaminergic neurotransmission and hippocampal synaptic plasticity in rats”, Neuropharmacology (2007). PubMed 17854844. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17854844/
6. Vakhitova YuV et al., “Ladasten induces the expression of genes regulating dopamine biosynthesis in various structures of rat brain”, Eksp Klin Farmakol (2004). PubMed 15500036. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15500036/
7. Kudrin VS et al., “The effect of bromantane on the dopamine- and serotoninergic systems of the rat brain”, Eksp Klin Farmakol (1995). PubMed 7580761. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7580761/
8. Zimin IA et al., “Role of the brain dopaminergic and serotoninergic systems in psychopharmacological effects of ladasten and sydnocarb”, Eksp Klin Farmakol (2010). PubMed 20369592. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20369592/
9. Davydova AI et al., “Neurochemical study of effects of afobazol and ladasten on monoamine synthesis and metabolism”, Eksp Klin Farmakol (2010). PubMed 20408420. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20408420/
10. Oliynyk S, Oh S, “The pharmacology of actoprotectors”, Biomol Ther 20(5):446-456 (2012). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3762282
11. Morozov IS et al., “The mechanisms of the neurotropic action of bromantan”, Eksp Klin Farmakol (1999). PubMed 10198757. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10198757/
12. Morozov IS et al., “The characteristics of the neuropsychotropic activity of bromantane in laboratory animals”, Eksp Klin Farmakol (1999). PubMed 10340117. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10340117/
13. Burnat P et al., “Bromontan, a new doping agent”, Lancet (1997). PubMed 9314900 (record only). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9314900/
14. Health Canada, “Unauthorized drug products sold illegally by Quadragen and Advanced Research websites” (updated 2024-07-19). https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-recall/unauthorized-drug-products-sold-illegally-quadragen-and-advanced-research-websites-0
15. Iezhitsa IN et al., “Toxic effect of single treatment with bromantane on neurological status of experimental animals”, Bull Exp Biol Med (2002). PubMed 12124651. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12124651/
16. @dex7official, tier-list post (2026-10-20). https://x.com/dex7official/status/2112691493261484516 (text from the project’s transcription of the image)
17. @theriac33, “What your dopamine loves / hates” (2026-11-02). https://x.com/theriac33/status/2117361887457505469 (text from the project’s transcription of the image)

This article is information, not medical advice.