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...
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...
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...