What are the health benefits of cytidine diphosphate choline?

Cytidine diphosphate choline, also known as citicoline, is a brain chemical that occurs naturally in the human body. In supplement form, the compound has a wide array of medicinal properties that have been confirmed in scientific studies. Most of these health benefits relate to cognition and brain function. Consult with your doctor before embarking on a regimen of self-treatment with cytidine diphosphate choline or any other health supplement.
Hastens Stroke Recovery
In an attempt to determine what, if any, effect supplementation of oral citicoline has on recovery in patients with acute ischemic stroke, a team of Spanish and U.S. doctors undertook a sweeping analysis of data from previous clinical studies. Researchers evaluated data covering 1,372 stroke patients, 789 of whom had received citicoline and 583 who'd been given placebo. In findings published in the November 2002 issue of "Stroke," researchers concluded that treatment with oral citicoline within the first 24 hours after the stroke's onset significantly increases the probability of complete recovery within three months.
Helps Reverse Memory Decline
Psychology researchers at three U.S. universities reviewed experimental evaluations of several compounds marketed as memory-enhancing supplements. Such supplements included citicoline as well as phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylcholine, piracetam, vinpocetine, acetyl-L-carnitine and antioxidants, most notably vitamin E. Although studies on citicoline were limited, researchers reported that one study showed citicoline supplementation produced a sharp improvement in story recall among a study group of normally aging adults who had scored lower than their peers in baseline testing. Researchers published their findings in the November 2003 issue of "Nutrition."
Improves Vision in Patients With Optic Neuropathy
A team of Italian researchers studied the effects of citicoline supplementation on the vision of patients who had been diagnosed with non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy, NION. Researchers assembled a group of 26 patients who were at least six months beyond the initial onset of NION. Researchers divided the study group into two age-similar groups, and all patients underwent baseline testing before the experiment began. One such group of 14 patients was given 1,600 mg of citicoline for 60 days, followed by a wash-out period of 120 days. The other group of 12 patients received no treatment. At the conclusion of the 180 days, the patients receiving citicoline showed improved visual acuity, while those in the control group showed no improvement at all. Researchers reported their findings in a 2008 issue of the "European Journal of Neurology."
Eases Effects of Traumatic Brain Injury
Neurosurgical researchers at Louisiana State University and the University of Wisconsin conducted an animal study to see what, if any, neuroprotective effects that citicoline had in the aftermath of traumatic brain injury. Researchers induced traumatic brain injury in a group of anesthetized laboratory rats. Test animals received intraperitoneal injections of citicoline at doses ranging from 50 to 400 mg per kg of each animal's weight. Although animals receiving doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg showed little, if any, improvement, those getting 400 mg/kg showed significantly decreased brain edema and blood-brain barrier breakdown, secondary injury effects commonly seen after traumatic brain injury. In an article in the March 2000 issue of "Journal of Neurosurgery," researchers concluded that citicoline is an effective neuroprotective agent against some of the secondary injuries after traumatic brain injury.