Neuriva comes from the same company that now owns Airborne, a supplement whose early extravagant claims included that it would cure or prevent colds and other illnesses (based on a "study" by a company that had no actual scientists or doctors). The former owner was fined by the Federal Trade Commission for deceptive advertising and was the subject of successful class action suits.

As with Neuriva, the claims for Airborne were severely toned down though the product continues to be advertised.

Neuriva contains two ingredients (along with some B vitamins) which have been around health food stores for awhile. One, coffee cherry extract, was shown to increase brain neurotrophic factor, but in a single-dose study that had no control group.

The other ingredient, phosphatidylserine, has been studied with both weakly positive and negative results. In other words, nothing impressive.

A study including a combination of the two ingredients has not been reported in any refereed medical journal I am familiar with.

Of course, the revised Neuriva claim is essentially meaningless. It's been tested. So? Plenty of drugs have been tested--and found not to work. And the TV ads with Miyam Bialik rely on the supplement industry's favorite weasel word, "supports", as in "supports brain health." Yeah, so does sugar.

Meanwhile, Neuriva joins a growing group of purported nootropics (brain supplements) whose initial advertising made flamboyant claims that were not supported and whose current, more modest ads (often just personal testimonies) continue to bask in the memory of those previous commercials.