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Can You Still Buy NSI-189 Online?
Due to NSI-189’s scarcity, it can be difficult to find reasonably priced, legitimate NSI-189.
For those who are unfamiliar with NSI-189, it’s a neurogenic antidepressant under clinical development by Neuralstem.
Sources include Longecity, or online nootropics stores that sell NSI-189 under the table.
A couple years ago, some nootropics vendors offered NSI-189 phosphate. But since NSI-189 is the patented, intellectual property of Neuralstem, they were forced to stop selling it after receiving a cease and desist. Neuralstem seems to aggressively issue such letters to halt the online sale of NSI-189.
This actually makes a lot of sense. Neuralstem has invested millions in developing NSI-189. They’re also protecting their intellectual property by not disclosing the mechanism of action of NSI-189.
What’s the Story with NSI-189?
NSI-189 robustly increase hippocampal neurogenesis, and possibly, hippocampal volume. Other antidepressants have this effect too. What sets NSI-189 apart is that Neuralstem identified NSI-189 by specifically screening for compounds that increase the size of the hippocampus in rodents. NSI-189 may prove to be a “disease-modifying” treatment for depression because it restores hippocampal volume. This effect has not yet been confirmed in humans.
Buying NSI-189 Safely
Things you can do to avoid problems buying obscure research chemicals like NSI-189 online:
- Look for evidence of independent laboratory testing
- Research vendor reputation
- Get a better sense by asking customer support some questions
- Use organoleptic verification
If buy NSI-189 online, you’ll want to see if its appearance and physical properties match online reports. This is called organoleptic verification, and is a crude method for identifying compounds.
Organoleptic verification refers to the practice of evaluating a compound based on its appearance (color, crystal structure), taste, and smell. NSI-189 is a white crystalline powder with a bitter taste. Depending on the source, the taste of NSI-189 has been described as mildly bitter to so bitter that it is difficult to get down. NSI-189 has a faint odor or no odor.
NSI-189 is not very dense. A 0.15cc scoop of NSI-189 phosphate corresponds to roughly 50mg. The NSI-189 dosage used in clinical trials conducted by Neuralstem ranged from 40-120mg.
Other NSI-189 Sources
You can discretely buy NSI-189 by visiting this longecity.org thread, registering an account, and private messaging a user who sells NSI-189. But it can be daunting and time consuming to comb through a hundred page forum thread.
NSI-189 Phosphate vs NSI-189 Free Base
When you decide to buy NSI-189, one consideration is which version you should get: phosphate or free base?
- NSI-189 Phosphate was the compound used in the clinical trials conducted by Neuralstem
- NSI-189 Phosphate is about 10-20% more expensive than the free base version
- NSI-189 free base
seems to have very poor oral bioavailabilityshould be taken sublingually - In terms of chemical structure, the “free base” refers to the secondary amine (the nitrogen atom bonded to two carbon atoms and one hydrogen atom) depicted in the structure shown above
NSI-189 vs Other Antidepressants
What sets NSI-189 apart from other antidepressants already on the market (e.g., SSRIs)?
Like NSI-189, selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) also increase hippocampal neurogenesis. In fact, a famous paper published in Nature showed that SSRI-induced neurogenesis is required for the antidepressant effect. Hence, the fact that SSRIs increase serotonin in the synaptic cleft may be a kind of red herring; the "real" mechanism may in fact result from an increase in neuronal proliferation and integration of these nascent neurons into existing circuits.
Neuralstem identified NSI-189 using a novel approach (which is now patented). Instead of screening for drugs that increase synaptic serotonin or other monoamines, they directly screened a library of 10,000 compounds for their ability to increase neuronal proliferation, survival, and differentiation, leading to the discovery of NSI-189.