Piracetam (sold under many brand names) is a nootropic drug in the racetams group, with chemical name 2-oxo-1-pyrrolidine acetamide. It shares the same 2-oxo-pyrrolidone base structure with pyroglutamic acid. Piracetam is a cyclic derivative of GABA. In the United States, it is not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for any medical use and it is not permitted to be sold as a dietary supplement. In the UK, piracetam is prescribed mainly for myoclonus, but is used off-label for other conditions.
Piracetam was first synthesized in 1964 by scientists at the Belgian pharmaceutical company UCB led by Corneliu E. Giurgea; struck by its apparent ability to boost mental functioning in even healthy individuals and by its safety, Giurgea coined the term nootropic to describe it and other substances. Piracetam (trade name "Nootropil") was launched clinically by UCB in the early 1970s, and currently is in use in many European countries. It was also used by Janz in the 1950's for Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy.