Molecular Psychiatry
August 23, 2025
Adam J. Drewko, Ron L. P. Habets, Tibor M Brunt
4 citations
Serotonergic psychedelics, including the recreationally used psilocybin and LSD, have become promising therapeutic agents for the treatment of treatment-resistant depression. While it is generally agreed that they exhibit their antidepressant effects by inducing rapid and sustained neuroplasticity, the molecular mechanisms responsible are widely debated. In particular, the role of the serotonin...
Neurotoxicity Research
December 2021
Jan Van Amsterdam, Tibor M Brunt, Mimi Pierce et al.
Although MDMA (ecstasy) is a relatively safe recreational drug and is currently considered for therapeutic use for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD), recreational MDMA use occasionally elicits hyperthermia and hyponatremia, sometimes with a fatal outcome. Specific risk factors for both adverse effects are profuse sweating while vigorously...
Therapeutic Drug Monitoring
April 1, 2020
Funda Inan, Tibor M Brunt, Ramon R Contrucci et al.
9 citations
The novel phenethylamines 4-fluoroamphetamine (4-FA) and 2,5-dimethoxy-4-bromophenethylamine (2C-B) fall in the top 10 most used new psychoactive substances (NPSs) among high-risk substance users. Various phenethylamines and NPS are also highly used in populations with mental disorders, depression, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Moreover, NPS use is highly prevalent among...
Journal of Forensic Sciences
November 1, 2019
Antoinette S Spoelder, Jan K G Louwerens, Stefanie D Krens et al.
12 citations
4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine (2C-B) is a designer drug. In Europe, 2C-B is easily obtained and used for recreational purposes. It is known for its stimulating effects similar to those of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, although in higher doses it has more hallucinogenic effects. Here, we report a case of 2C-B ingestion, confirmed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, in...
Psychopharmacology
April 9, 2019
Vincent T Mensen, Annabel Vreeker, Johan Nordgren et al.
Background: Synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) are a class of new psychoactive substances that have been rapidly evolving around the world throughout recent years. Many different synthetic cannabinoid analogues are on the consumer market and sold under misleading names, like "spice" or "incense." A limited number of studies have reported serious health effects associated with SC use. In this study,...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
September 1, 2017
Karin J H Verweij, Jorien L Treur, Annabel Vreeker et al.
Ecstasy is a widely used psychoactive drug that users often take because they experience positive effects such as increased euphoria, sociability, elevated mood, and heightened sensations. Ecstasy use is not harmless and several immediate and long term side effects have been identified. Lifetime ecstasy use is likely to be partly influenced by genetic factors, but no twin study has determined...
Addiction
April 1, 2017
Daan van der Gouwe, Tibor M Brunt, Margriet Van Laar et al.
72 citations
On-line drug markets flourish and consumers have high expectations of on-line quality and drug value. The aim of this study was to (i) describe on-line drug purchases and (ii) compare on-line with off-line purchased drugs regarding purity, adulteration and price. Comparison of laboratory analyses of 32 663 drug consumer samples (stimulants and hallucinogens) purchased between January 2013 and...
Drug Testing and Analysis
February 2017
Tibor M Brunt, Constanze Nagy, Alexander Bücheli et al.
Drug testing is a harm reduction strategy that has been adopted by certain countries in Europe. Drug users are able to hand in their drugs voluntarily for chemical analysis of composition and dose. Drug users will be alerted about dangerous test results by the drug testing systems directly and through warning campaigns. An international collaborative effort was launched to combine data of drug...
Clinical Toxicology
May 31, 2016
Tibor M Brunt, Ruud P. W. Litjens
We concur with the observation of the authors that ibogaine does not seem to have a clear therapeutic dose margin, nor does iboga extracts or the root bark of iboga. However, what they consider to ...
Clinical Toxicology
2016
Ruud P. W. Litjens, Tibor M Brunt
74 citations
Ibogaine is a psychoactive indole alkaloid found in the African rainforest shrub Tabernanthe Iboga. It is unlicensed but used in the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction. However, reports of ibogaine's toxicity are cause for concern. To review ibogaine's pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, mechanisms of action and reported toxicity. A search of the literature available on PubMed was done,...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
December 1, 2015
Johanna J Nugteren-Van Lonkhuyzen, Antoinette J H P van Riel, Tibor M Brunt et al.
48 citations
Recently, the number of new psychoactive substances (NPS) appearing on the illicit drug market has shown a marked increase. Although many users perceive the risk of using NPS as medium or low, these substances can pose a serious health risk and several NPS have been implicated in drug-related deaths. In Europe, frequently detected NPS are 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine (2C-B),...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
February 1, 2015
Laura Hondebrink, Johanna J Nugteren-Van Lonkhuyzen, Daan van der Gouwe et al.
119 citations
In recent years, the number of new psychoactive substances (NPS) appearing on the illicit drug market strongly increased. However, little is known about their toxic effects and risks. Therefore, we determined the most frequently occurring NPS in The Netherlands and combined this with data regarding drug-related intoxications. Data from the Drugs Information and Monitoring System (DIMS) and the...
European Neuropsychopharmacology
August 2014
Ruud P. W. Litjens, Tibor M Brunt, Gerard-Jan Alderliefste et al.
Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD) is a drug-induced condition associated with inaccurate visual representations. Since the underlying mechanism(s) are largely unknown, this review aims to uncover aspects underlying its etiology. Available evidence on HPPD and drug-related altered visual processing was reviewed and the majority of HPPD cases were attributed to drugs with...
Psychopharmacology
April 2012
Tibor M Brunt, Maarten W Koeter, Raymond J.m. Niesink et al.
Most studies on the subjective effects of ecstasy are based on the assumption that the substance that was taken is 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). However, many tablets sold as ecstasy contain other substances and MDMA in varying doses. So far, few attempts have been made to take this into account while assessing subjective effects. This study aims to link the pharmacological content...
International Journal of Drug Policy
March 2012
Tibor M Brunt, Raymond J.m. Niesink, Wim van den Brink
A recent decline in MDMA-like substances in ecstasy tablets has been reported by a number of countries in the European Union. This study describes the instability of the ecstasy market in The Netherlands during 2008 and 2009, and investigates whether this had any impact on drug testing or patterns of drug use. The health concerns of drug users handing in drug samples at drug testing facilities...
Drug Testing and Analysis
September 2011
Tibor M Brunt, Raymond J.m. Niesink
The Ministry of Health in the Netherlands has made illicit drug testing for drug users possible since the 1990s, in order to prevent serious health hazards associated with unexpected dangerous substances. This system of illicit drug testing is called the Drug Information and Monitoring System (DIMS). In nearly two decades, more than 100 000 drug samples have been handed in at DIMS testing...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
September 8, 2010
Tibor M Brunt, Anneke Poortman, Raymond J.m. Niesink et al.
217 citations
Recently, several reports have indicated instability of the ecstasy market in the Netherlands and other EU countries. In the current study, we demonstrate this instability in the Netherlands, showing a decrease of ecstasy tablets containing 3,4-methylenedioxymetamphetamine (MDMA) by more than 50% in 2009. In addition, we describe a partial replacement of MDMA in tablets sold as ecstasy by a...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
September 2010
Matthijs G. Bossong, Tibor M Brunt, J P Van Dijk et al.
A new ecstasy-like substance, meta-chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP), has been detected in street drugs in the Netherlands. Theoretically, mCPP possesses the potential to become a non-neurotoxic alternative for methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), the regular psychoactive substance of ecstasy. Since its introduction on the Dutch market of synthetic drugs, the percentage of mCPP-containing tablets...
Addiction
December 2009
Neeltje Vogels, Tibor M Brunt, Sander Rigter et al.
The present paper outlines the results of analyses carried out on the content of tablets sold as ecstasy, collected in the Netherlands by the Drugs Information Monitoring System (DIMS) from January 1993 to December 2008. During a period of 16 years, the DIMS analysed the content of 33 006 tablets sold as ecstasy that were handed in by numerous individual (potential) substance users. The DIMS...