[SilasX]

>But the FDA/research system is not set up to deal with things like this, that are not to treat a disease per se, but rather to enhance ... healthy, young or middle-aged normals.

So how did plastic surgery get through? Would that kind of procedure not be approved today under current standards? Would they be allowed to experiment at all, given the (in the FDA's view) limited benefits?

[xaa]

Most plastic surgery is not drug-based, so there is a lot less research that needs to be done on the molecular level to get it through. Much like nootropics, plastic surgery also has a use-case for "diseased" people: people born deformed or injured in accidents.

The big exception is Botox (aka botulinium toxin). Yes, the safety standards were a little lower in the 1960s, when it was being researched for therapeutic use. But also, botulinium toxin is very heavily researched because it is a useful molecular tool in other contexts, so we know quite well how it works, even though it is an extremely dangerous substance if used improperly. For many nootropics, we just don't know.

And if anything, the standards for something that is supposed to be operating on the brain are even higher than those applied to facial muscles, skin, etc.