Methoxetamine: from drug of abuse to rapid-acting antidepressant.
Maurizio Coppola, Raffaella Mondola
Medical Hypotheses October 1, 2012 DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2012.07.002 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Proposes that methoxetamine may produce rapid antidepressant effects in patients with resistant and non-resistant unipolar and bipolar depression, based on its pharmacodynamic similarities to ketamine and its receptor activity profile. |
Abstract
Methoxetamine is a dissociative anaesthetic showing pharmacodynamic similarities with its analogue ketamine, a medication with demonstrated rapid-acting antidepressant effects. Like ketamine and other arylcyclohexylamine compounds, methoxetamine is thought to be both a noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist and a dopamine reuptake inhibitor. Furthermore, it acts as an agonist at dopamine D2, serotonin 5HT2, muscarinic cholinergic, sigma-1, opioid mu and k receptors. The hypothesis is that methoxetamine can produce rapid antidepressant effects in patients with resistant and non-resistant unipolar and bipolar depression.
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- Here today, gone tomorrow…and back again? A review of herbal marijuana alternatives (K2, Spice), synthetic cathinones (bath salts), kratom, Salvia divinorum, methoxetamine, and piperazines. Journal of Medical Toxicology March 1, 2012
- mTOR activation is required for the antidepressant effects of mGluR2/3 blockade The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology November 24, 2011
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