Blood vessels: nootropics and compounds | sci-wiki

VIP

Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) is a 28-amino-acid neuropeptide that signals through the G-protein-coupled receptors VPAC1, VPAC2, and PAC1, functioning as a potent vasodilator, bronchodilator, and broad anti-inflammatory regulator; in the central nervous system it suppresses tumor necrosis factor alpha production by activated microglia through a cyclic AMP-dependent pathway. A defining and comparatively unusual role is its function as the principal synchronizing signal of the suprachiasmatic nucleus, where VIP released from retinorecipient neurons couples and entrains the master circadian clock via ERK1/2 signaling. In the lung VIP protects alveolar type II cells and dampens cytokine release, which motivated clinical study of the synthetic form aviptadil in COVID-19 respiratory failure and pulmonary hypertension, though large randomized trials such as TESICO did not establish clear survival benefit. Its pleiotropic, homeostatic actions across neural, immune, vascular, and reproductive tissues make it a widely investigated biological regulator.

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Cardiovascular

Adrenaline (Epinephrine)

Adrenaline, also called epinephrine, is a hormone and neurotransmitter of the catecholamine class that the body releases mainly from the adrenal glands in response to stress. It drives the fight-or-flight response, quickening the heartbeat, opening the airways, and redirecting blood to the muscles to ready the body for exertion. As a medication it is the first-line treatment for the severe allergic reaction anaphylaxis and is also used in cardiac arrest and other emergencies, and it appears on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.

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Anticoagulant

Cilostazol

Cilostazol is a phosphodiesterase 3 inhibitor with combined antiplatelet and vasodilator effects, used mainly to relieve the leg pain of intermittent claudication in peripheral artery disease. By raising levels of the signaling molecule cyclic AMP, it widens blood vessels and discourages platelets from clumping, which can lengthen the distance a person is able to walk before pain sets in. It was approved in the United States in 1999 and carries a warning against use in people with heart failure.

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Cardiovascular

Prazosin

Prazosin is a selective alpha-1 adrenergic receptor antagonist (an alpha-1 blocker) of the quinazoline class. Introduced in the 1970s to treat high blood pressure, it relaxes blood vessels and smooth muscle, and it is now also used off-label to reduce the nightmares and sleep disruption of post-traumatic stress disorder, to ease the urinary symptoms of an enlarged prostate, and in Raynaud's phenomenon. It is sold under the brand name Minipress and is widely available as a generic oral medicine.

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Vasodilator

Acetergamine

Acetergamine is an ergoline (ergot alkaloid) derivative studied for alpha-1 adrenergic receptor-blocking and vasodilator activity. It was never developed into a marketed drug.

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Antineoplastic

Bevacizumab

A monoclonal antibody that binds vascular endothelial growth factor A and stops new blood vessels forming. It has been an intravenous cancer drug since 2004 and was used off-label in the eye for two decades; in July 2026 the FDA approved Lytenava, the first ophthalmic formulation, for wet age-related macular degeneration.

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