Recent experiments using non-selective 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)(2C) receptor agonists including WAY 161503 suggested that midbrain 5-HT neurones are under the inhibitory control of 5-HT(2C) receptors, acting via neighbouring gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurones. The present study extended this pharmacological characterization by comparing the actions of WAY 161503 with the 5-HT(2C)...
A case is presented of a 39-year-old woman who suffered severe debilitation because of a hemorrhagic stroke in the context of substance abuse. The patient presented to the emergency room with rapidly diminishing mental status, hypertension, and vasoconstriction; her friends provided a history of ingestion of cocaine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), and 2C-I, a novel designer amine. A...
3,4-Methylenedioxy-amphetamine (MDA) and benzodioxolyl-butanamine (BDB) are chiral designer drugs distributed on the illicit drug market and they are also N-dealkyl metabolites of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, Ecstasy, Adam), 3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine (MDEA, Eve), and N-methyl-benzodioxolyl-butanamine (MBDB, Eden), respectively. MDA and BDB are mainly metabolized via...
Previous studies have documented that in a substantial minority of individuals with depersonalization disorder, onset is first triggered by illicit drug ingestion. The goal of this study was to systematically compare a large sample of individuals with drug-initiated (D) versus non-drug-initiated (ND) chronic depersonalization. We conducted an internet survey of 394 adults endorsing DSM-IV-TR...
The LancetAugust 15, 2009Sanjeev Bhattacharyya, Anthony H Schapira, Dimitri P Mikhailidis et al.
The initial association between the development of valvular heart disease and drugs stems from observations made during the use of methysergide and ergotamine for migraine prophylaxis in the 1960s. Since then, the appetite suppressants fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine, the dopamine agonists pergolide and cabergoline, and more recently, the recreational drug ecstasy (3,4...
Rationale There has been increased recreational use of dimethyltryptamine (DMT), but little is known of its discriminative stimulus effects. Objectives The present study assessed the similarity of the discriminative stimulus effects of DMT to other types of hallucinogens and to psychostimulants. Methods Rats were trained to discriminate DMT from saline. To test the similarity of DMT to known...
A 24-year-old male died suddenly following the intravenous injection of what was believed to be the ring-derivate amphetamine 'ecstasy' (MDMA). Toxicological analyses of the victim's blood and the injected material, however, failed to reveal MDMA, but showed instead low levels of bufotenine, a tryptamine derivative alkaloid found in the secretions of various toads. In addition, resibufogenin,...
The 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA)-related designer drug 3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine (MDEA, Eve) is a chiral compound that is mainly metabolized by N-deethylation and demethylenation during phase I metabolism. The involvement of several cytochrome P450 (P450) isozymes in these metabolic steps has been demonstrated by inhibition assays using human liver microsomes. However, a...
The designer drugs R,S-3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA, Ecstasy), R,S-3,4-methylenedioxy-ethylamphetamine (MDEA, Eve), and R,S-N-methyl-benzodioxolyl-butanamine (MBDB, Eden) are chiral compounds, and their in vitro and in vivo metabolism is enantioselective with a preference for the S-enantiomer caused in part by P450-mediated demethylenation. As the elimination of the catecholamine...
Disruptions in social decision-making are becoming evident in many psychiatric conditions. These are studied using paradigms investigating the psychological mechanisms underlying interpersonal interactions, such as the Ultimatum Game (UG). Rejection behaviour in the UG represents altruistic punishment - the costly punishment of norm violators - but the mechanisms underlying it require...