The synthetic cathinone αPHP, a derivative of MDPV, induces dose-dependent neurotoxic effects in mouse neural stem/progenitor cells grown in 2D cultures and 3D neurospheres. Exposure to concentrations from 50 to 2000 μM alters cell morphology, disrupts neuronal and glial differentiation, activates apoptotic cell death pathways, and causes ultrastructural changes. These findings suggest that αPHP is neurotoxic and neuromodulatory, contributing to understanding the mechanisms behind psychiatric and neurological outcomes from synthetic cathinones.
3-chloromethcathinone (3-CMC), a synthetic cathinone involved in many poisonings, causes locomotor stimulation, rapid breathing, hypothermia, and sensorimotor alterations in mice, with prepulse inhibition changes only at high doses and minor sex differences. All 15 human intoxications in Italy from 2014 to 2025 were non-fatal, involving male patients with psychomotor agitation, psychosis, aggressiveness, CNS depression, cardiac arrhythmias, chest pain, and tachypnea. Predicted metabolic reactions include N-dealkylation, N-hydroxylation, and phenyl hydroxylation, and all compounds show potential for drug-drug interactions and cardiotoxicity.