3,4-Methylenedioxy methamphetamine, synthetic cathinones and psychedelics: From recreational to novel psychotherapeutic drugs
Jordi Camarasa, Pol Puigseslloses, Edurne Urquizu, Elena Escubedo, David Pubill, Raúl López‐arnau, Marcel·lí Carbó, Núria Nadal‐gratacós, María Espinosa‐velasco
Frontiers in Psychiatry October 3, 2022 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.990405 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | LSD MDMA Mescaline Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Mephedrone Hallucinogen Synthetic cannabinoids Recreational drug Pharmacology |
| Citations | 5 |
| Key findings | Classical psychoactive substances and new psychoactive substances show potential for treating psychiatric disorders like PTSD and treatment-resistant depression when used in controlled medical settings. |
Abstract
The utility of classical drugs used to treat psychiatric disorders (e.g., antidepressants, anxiolytics) is often limited by issues of lack of efficacy, delayed onset of action or side effects. Psychoactive substances have a long history of being used as tools to alter consciousness and as a gateway to approach the unknown and the divinities. These substances were initially obtained from plants and animals and more recently by chemical synthesis, and its consumption evolved toward a more recreational use, leading to drug abuse-related disorders, trafficking, and subsequent banning by the authorities. However, these substances, by modulation of certain neurochemical pathways, have been proven to have a beneficial effect on some psychiatric disorders. This evidence obtained under medically controlled conditions and often associated with psychotherapy, makes these substances an alternative to conventional medicines, to which in many cases the patient does not respond properly. Such disorders include post-traumatic stress disease and treatment-resistant depression, for which classical drugs such as MDMA, ketamine, psilocybin and LSD, among others, have already been clinically tested, reporting successful outcomes. The irruption of new psychoactive substances (NPS), especially during the last decade and despite their recreational and illicit uses, has enlarged the library of substances with potential utility on these disorders. In fact, many of them were synthetized with therapeutic purposes and were withdrawn for concrete reasons (e.g., adverse effects, improper pharmacological profile). In this review we focus on the basis, existing evidence and possible use of synthetic cathinones and psychedelics (specially tryptamines) for the treatment of mental illnesses and the properties that should be found in NPS to obtain new therapeutic compounds.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on mescaline, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Study of a New Schizophrenomimetic Drug—Sernyl | 1959 | Review | |
| Hallucinogens and Serotonin 5-HT2A Receptor-Mediated Signaling Pathways | 2017 | Review | |
| Hallucinogens in Mental Health: Preclinical and Clinical Studies on LSD, Psilocybin, MDMA, and Ketamine | 2020 | Review | |
| Legal highs: staying on top of the flood of novel psychoactive substances | 2015 | Review | |
| Psychedelic Drugs in Biomedicine | 2017 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Stimulant and hallucinogenic novel psychoactive substances; an update Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology November 2, 2023
- Structure-activity relationships of serotonergic 5-MeO-DMT derivatives: insights into psychoactive and thermoregulatory properties Molecular Psychiatry March 14, 2024
- Novel Benzofuran Derivatives Induce Monoamine Release and Substitute for the Discriminative Stimulus Effects of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics September 18, 2024
- A Toad Less Traveled: Should 5-MeO-DMT Have a Role in Treating Depression? Psychedelic Medicine April 14, 2025
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and 114 more in the library