Real-Life Superhero Pill? Drug Gains Following Due To Off-Label Success As Smart Pill

PITTSBURGH (CBS) -- A pill that claims to make you smarter, better at everything you do, and limitless at what you can accomplish.

That's the premise of the CBS show "Limitless." In reality, there is a pill that just might make you smarter.

For business consultant Peter Borden, that "edge" comes in the form of a pill, called modafinil.

"The effects in the movie 'Limitless' were pretty much one for one to what happens," said Borden.

In the movie, and now the CBS drama, it's a fictional drug that gives the user super-human intelligence.

In reality, modafinil, which is FDA-approved for sleep disorders, is developing a following because of its off-label success as a smart pill.

One man said he heard about modafinil from friends, who claimed it would help him deal with his overwhelming tasks at work and school.

"It really helped me stay on top of things," he said. "I was able to manage everything pretty well, better than if I hadn't taken it."

It's a fact that modafinil can help combat fatigue and improve mood.

Psychiatry and neuroscience professor Dr. Katherine Burdick admits she knows people who use it as a cognitive enhancer, but she says more research is needed before it can be marketed as a real smart pill.

"While they do enhance your own abilities in a way that may suggest a better you, the potential risks that are associated with this are still unknown," said Dr. Burdick.

She adds the increased intelligence the user may feel is likely something they're already capable of having without a pill.

"In general, these drugs don't tend to give people ideas they didn't already have," she says. "They may make it easier for people to access those ideas."

But Dave Asprey, CEO of Bulletproof Coffee Company, claims modafinil is directly linked to his success.

"When I started taking it, it was like the lights came back on and I was able to do things I'd never been able to do," he says.

Though, he stresses a healthy lifestyle is a must to make the most of it

"I'd like to have it for those days when I don't know if I can do it , and all of a sudden you can do it and do it with ease," he says.

People who use this as a smart pill say they feel no ill effects the next day.

Meanwhile, there's currently a study for another possible "off-label" use for this drug to treat manic depression.

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