Fatalities temporally associated with the ingestion of ibogaine.
Kenneth Alper, Marina Stajić, James R. Gill
Journal of Forensic Sciences March 1, 2012 DOI: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2011.02008.x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 19 |
| Population | Individuals who died after ibogaine use outside West Central Africa |
| Intervention | Ibogaine |
| Topics | Ibogaine |
| Keywords | Tabernanthe iboga Drug safety Medication safety Drug risks Adverse drug events Drug fatalities Drug-related deaths Addiction treatment Drug rehabilitation Detoxification Medical screening Health assessment Pre-treatment evaluation Patient screening Risk assessment |
| Citations | 101 |
| Key findings | Advanced preexisting medical comorbidities, mainly cardiovascular, and/or other abused substances explained or contributed to death in most cases, with no characteristic neurotoxicity syndrome observed. |
Abstract
Ibogaine is a naturally occurring psychoactive plant alkaloid that is used globally in medical and nonmedical settings for opioid detoxification and other substance use indications. All available autopsy, toxicological, and investigative reports were systematically reviewed for the consecutive series of all known fatalities outside of West Central Africa temporally related to the use of ibogaine from 1990 through 2008. Nineteen individuals (15 men, four women between 24 and 54 years old) are known to have died within 1.5-76 h of taking ibogaine. The clinical and postmortem evidence did not suggest a characteristic syndrome of neurotoxicity. Advanced preexisting medical comorbidities, which were mainly cardiovascular, and/or one or more commonly abused substances explained or contributed to the death in 12 of the 14 cases for which adequate postmortem data were available. Other apparent risk factors include seizures associated with withdrawal from alcohol and benzodiazepines and the uninformed use of ethnopharmacological forms of ibogaine.
Comparable studies
Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on ibogaine, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| A systematic literature review of clinical trials and therapeutic applications of ibogaine. Individuals receiving ibogaine or noribogaine for substance use disorders | 2022 | Systematic review | n = 705 |
| Ibogaine and addiction in the animal model, a systematic review and meta-analysis. Animals in studies of substance use disorders | 2016 | Systematic review and meta-analysis | n = 27 |
| United States National Institutes of Health grant funding for psychedelic-assisted therapy clinical trials from 2006-2020. | 2022 | Systematic review | |
| The adverse events of ibogaine in humans: an updated systematic review of the literature (2015-2020). | 2022 | Systematic review | |
| The antiaddictive effects of ibogaine: A systematic literature review of human studies Human studies assessing antiaddictive effects of ibogaine | 2017 | Systematic review | n = 8 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 84
- A non-hallucinogenic psychedelic analogue with therapeutic potential. Nature 2021
- Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy: A Paradigm Shift in Psychiatric Research and Development Frontiers in Pharmacology July 5, 2018
- Clinical applications of hallucinogens: A review. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology August 1, 2016
- Treatment of opioid use disorder with ibogaine: detoxification and drug use outcomes. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse 2018
- Ibogaine treatment outcomes for opioid dependence from a twelve-month follow-up observational study. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse 2018
and 79 more in the library
Cites 58
- Noncompetitive Functional Inhibition at Diverse, Human Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Subtypes by Bupropion, Phencyclidine, and Ibogaine Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 1999
- Degeneration of Purkinje cells in parasagittal zones of the cerebellar vermis after treatment with ibogaine or harmaline. Neuroscience July 1, 1993
- Treatment of acute opioid withdrawal with ibogaine. American Journal on Addictions 1999
- Effects and aftereffects of ibogaine on morphine self-administration in rats. European Journal of Pharmacology April 3, 1991
- Effects of iboga alkaloids on morphine and cocaine self-administration in rats: relationship to tremorigenic effects and to effects on dopamine release in nucleus accumbens and striatum. Brain Research September 19, 1994
and 53 more in the library