Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment
July 1, 2026
Alessio Mosca, Stefania Chiappini, Andrea Miuli et al.
INTRODUCTION: Ketamine, initially developed as an anesthetic and now increasingly prescribed for treatment-resistant depression, is also widely misused in recreational contexts. Chronic ketamine use, often leading to dependence, has been associated with severe physical complications, including ulcerative cystitis and gastrointestinal dysfunction, as well as cognitive, affective, and psychotic...
Current Neuropharmacology
January 9, 2026
Maria Antonietta De Luca, Cristina Miliano, Amanda Roxburgh et al.
1 citation
Preclinical and clinical studies reported that 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, 'ecstasy') can cause adverse effects in the central nervous system (CNS). Recently, preclinical studies have demonstrated that certain psychoactive substances may exacerbate the noxious central effects of MDMA when co-administered, including substances that are contained as adulterants in tablets sold as...
Clinical Neuropsychopharmacology and Addiction
January 4, 2026
Amira Guirguis, John Martin Corkery, Fabrizio Schifano
Background: Ketamine, a dissociative anaesthetic and non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist, has legitimate medical applications. However, rising illicit use across the United Kingdom (UK) has been accompanied by growing reports of toxicity, dependence, and deaths. These have led to renewed policy discussions. Rationale and Aim: Previous national studies have reported ketamine-related deaths...
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews
October 19, 2025
Alessio Mosca, Gianluca Mancusi, Stefania Chiappini et al.
6 citations
Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) are increasingly used by young individuals for their psychoactive effects and have been frequently associated with the emergence of psychotic symptoms and schizophrenia spectrum disorders. However, it remains unclear whether NPS use directly increases the risk of psychosis onset or whether individuals with a predisposition to psychosis are more likely to...
Brain Sci
September 17, 2025
Alessio Mosca, Stefania Chiappini, Andrea Miuli et al.
1 citation
Clinical Management of Synthetic-Cannabinoid-Induced Psychosis: A Systematic Review of Treatment Strategies and Outcomes.
Psychoactives
August 20, 2025
Tayler Holborn, Fabrizio Schifano, Emma Smith et al.
1 citation
Numerous individuals suffer from mental health issues including depression and anxiety, resulting in substantial societal burden. Data suggests individuals are choosing to self-medicate with Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS); however, this phenomenon is poorly understood. We aimed to investigate which NPS are being used to self-medicate, evaluate their perceived effectiveness and examine...
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
July 1, 2025
John Martin Corkery, Caroline S Copeland, Fabrizio Schifano
2 citations
Diarylethylamine drugs possess dissociative properties. These emerged as drugs of misuse, with reports of strong addictive potential, high tolerance and compulsive intake. Since one of these drugs, diphenidine, was added to the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, the United Kingdom (UK) had to consider its control. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs 2023 advice included...
Brain Sciences
April 22, 2025
Fabrizio Schifano, Stefania Bonaccorso, Davide Arillotta et al.
14 citations
Background: "Chemsex" involves the intake of a range of drugs (e.g., synthetic cathinones, gamma-hydroxybutyric acid/gamma-butyrolactone (GHB/GBL), ketamine, methamphetamine, "poppers", type V phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors, MDMA/ecstasy, cocaine, cannabis, and occasionally a few other molecules as well, to enhance and prolong sexual experiences. This paper aims to provide an overview of...
Archiv der Pharmazie
March 1, 2025
Giuseppe Floresta, Alberto Granzotto, Vincenzo Patamia et al.
12 citations
Abstract Xylazine, traditionally used as a veterinary sedative, has recently emerged as a new psychoactive substance, being typically ingested in combination with fentanyl derivatives and hence raising significant public health concerns. Despite its increasing prevalence, little is known about its molecular interactions with human neuroreceptors, specifically the serotonin 7 (5‐HT 7 R) and...
Current Neuropharmacology
February 20, 2025
Alessio Mosca, Stefania Chiappini, Gianluca Mancusi et al.
3 citations
BACKGROUND: The widespread availability and accessibility of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines play a vital role in modern healthcare systems, enabling individuals to manage minor health concerns independently. However, certain OTC medications possess pharmacological properties that render them susceptible to misuse and abuse, including stimulants, laxatives, sedatives, and opiate-containing...
Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry
January 10, 2025
Stefania Chiappini, Amira Guirguis, Nicolò Schifano et al.
12 citations
Intranasal esketamine, approved with oral antidepressants for adults with treatment-resistant depression (TRD), is the S-enantiomer of ketamine and has higher potency and affinity for N-Methyl-d-Aspartate receptors. Administered intranasally, it offers rapid absorption and onset, essential for severe depressive symptoms or suicidal impulses. Comparative studies on esketamine and ketamine's...
Psychiatry International
September 20, 2024
Alessio Mosca, Stefania Chiappini, Andrea Miuli et al.
5 citations
Background: Piperazines, synthetic compounds known for their stimulant and hallucinogenic effects, have gained prominence among novel psychoactive substances (NPS) and are frequently associated with adverse psychiatric outcomes, including psychosis. Methods: A systematic review of the literature available up to 23 May 2024 was conducted, using the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases,...
International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction
November 28, 2023
Tayler Holborn, Robert L. Page, Fabrizio Schifano et al.
5 citations
Abstract Currently, novel psychoactive substance (NPS) use presents a challenging issue for authorities. To effectively tackle the use of NPS, a deeper understanding of the motivations of those who use NPS is required. Evidence suggests that a subset of NPS users declare their use as ‘self-medicating’; however, there is a paucity of research in this area. The aim of this review is to provide an...
Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology
November 2, 2023
Fabrizio Schifano, Alessandro Vento, Norbert Scherbaum et al.
30 citations
Clinicians should be regularly informed about the range of NPS and their medical, psychobiological and psychopathological risks both in the acute and long term. Future research should focus on an integrative model in which pro-drug websites' analyses are combined with advanced research approaches, including computational chemistry studies so that in vitro and in vivo preclinical studies of...
The International journal on drug policy
August 1, 2023
Tayler Holborn, Fabrizio Schifano, Paolo Deluca
15 citations
The proliferation of Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) presents a challenge for global drug policy. The ease of online drug purchase and the emergence of the dark web have created new avenues for the growth of NPS. Despite the global nature of this issue, limited research has examined motivations of use. These include perceived safety or convenience, an interest in novel pharmacology and...
Pharmaceuticals
December 31, 2022
Antonio Munafò, Davide Arillotta, Guido Mannaioni et al.
15 citations
Psilocybin has been suggested as a promising transdiagnostic treatment strategy for a wide range of psychiatric disorders. Recent findings showed that psychedelic-assisted/”psycholitic” psychotherapy should provide significant and sustained alleviation of depressive symptoms. However, to date, there have been several study limitations (e.g., small sample sizes, blinding, limited follow-up,...
Experimental Neurology
May 1, 2021
Fabrizio Schifano, Stefania Chiappini, Andrea Miuli et al.
49 citations
The use of several new psychoactive substances (NPS) has become very popular and is posing global health risks. Chemically and pharmacologically diverse molecules are constantly emerging and are presenting with a wide range of clinical implications. Serotonin toxicity, and specifically Serotonin Syndrome (SS), might develop as a result of an over-activation of the serotoninergic system caused...
European Neuropsychopharmacology
April 13, 2021
Valeria Catalani, John Corkery, Amira Guirguis et al.
18 citations
Psychedelics alter the perception of reality through agonist or partial agonist interaction with the 2A serotoninergic receptor. They are classified as phenethylamines, tryptamines and lysergamides. These classes, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), account for an important percentage of the new...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
February 9, 2021
Valeria Catalani, Davide Arillotta, John Corkery et al.
38 citations
COVID-19-related disruptions of people and goods' circulation can affect drug markets, especially for new psychoactive substances (NPSs). Drug shortages could cause a change in available NPS, with the introduction of new, unknown, substances. The aims of the current research were to use a web crawler, NPSfinder®, to identify and categorize emerging NPS discussed on a range of drug...
Current Neuropharmacology
January 14, 2021
Stefania Chiappini, Andrea Miuli, Alessio Mosca et al.
19 citations
BACKGROUND: Both prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs recently emerged among novel psychoactive substances (NPS) being reported as ingested for recreational purposes. Among them, benzydamine (BZY), normally prescribed as an OTC anti-inflammatory drug, is reportedly being diverted and recreationally used. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate how the misuse of BZY has been...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
August 31, 2020
Giovanni Martinotti, Attilio Negri, Stefania Schiavone et al.
22 citations
In this study, we described the acute psychiatric presentations related to recreational drug use in subjects on holiday in Ibiza. The use of psychoactive substances was characterized by poly-use of both traditional and novel substances, with several psychopathological consequences. Future research should focus on a better understanding of the psychopathological effects of specific substances,...
CNS Spectrums
June 25, 2020
Giovanni Martinotti, Luisa de Risio, Chiara Vannini et al.
102 citations
There is growing recognition that substance use is associated with the emergence of psychosis.Elements of post-modernity dominate contemporary social contexts and operate as existential background factors that contribute to the emergence of substance-related psychotic phenomena, particularly use of potent and highly rewarding novel psychoactive substances (NPS). About 25% of first-episode...
Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics
2020
Fabrizio Schifano
19 citations
© 2020 S. Karger AG, Basel. This is the peer-reviewed but unedited manuscript version of the following article: Schifano F: Coming Off Prescribed Psychotropic Medications: Insights from Their Use as Recreational Drugs. Psychother Psychosom 2020;89:274-282. DOI: 10.1159/000361001. The final, published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1159/000507897.
Frontiers in Psychiatry
November 20, 2019
Laura Orsolini, Stefania Chiappini, Duccio Papanti et al.
41 citations
The critical spread and dissemination of novel psychoactive substances (NPS), particularly among the most vulnerable youngsters, may pose a further concern about the psychotic trajectories related to the intake of new synthetic drugs. The psychopathological pattern of the "new psychoses" appears to be extremely different from the classical presentation. Therefore, clinicians need more data on...
Psychological Medicine
July 22, 2019
Fabrizio Schifano, Flavia Napoletano, Stefania Chiappini et al.
118 citations
BACKGROUND: The present paper provides an updated review of both the large number of new/novel/emerging psychoactive substances (NPS) and their associated psychopathological consequences. Focus was here given on identification of those NPS being commented in specialised online sources and the related short-/long-term psychopathological and medical ill-health effects. METHODS: NPS have been...