Frontiers in Public Health
January 25, 2024
Yu Kyung Lee, Mark S Gold, Kenneth Blum et al.
45 citations
Opioid use disorder remains a major public health crisis, with overdose deaths at an all-time high despite increased access to naloxone, buprenorphine, and harm reduction strategies. The COVID-19 pandemic worsened substance use and disrupted treatment. Current medications have not reversed the rising death toll, indicating a need for different prevention and treatment approaches. This article reviews recent trends and limitations of existing medications and briefly examines novel treatments that may be more durable and effective. These include interventional treatments, psychedelics, neuroimmune, nutraceutical, and electromagnetic therapies, which are at various stages of investigation and FDA approval and may reduce overdoses, attenuate OUD, and address comorbid disorders.
Clinical toxicology
January 1, 1977
Kenneth Blum, San Ford L. Futterman, Paul Pascarosa
34 citations
Alcohol and opiate abuse among both Indian and non-Indian individuals became asymptomatic under Native American guidance and through participation in the peyote ritual. Biochemical alkaloids in the peyote cactus, not just mescaline, are pharmacologically similar to neuroamine-derived alkaloids found in the brain during alcohol intoxication. Evidence suggests possible common features of alcohol and opiate dependence, leading to speculation that a common mode of treatment may reside in plants rich in isoquinoline alkaloids.
Current psychopharmacology
February 15, 2021
Kenneth Blum, Thomas Mclaughlin, Edward J Modestino et al.
9 citations
Terrifying lucid dreams—where the dreamer is aware and may control the dream—can plague patients with Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS), including those with ADHD, Tourette's syndrome, and PTSD. In eight clinical cases with histories of substance abuse, childhood abuse, and PTSD, administration of the neuronutrient KB200Z eliminated unpleasant or terrifying lucid dreams in 87.5% of cases. Other published cases have since shown long-term elimination of terrifying dreams in PTSD and ADHD patients. The article proposes that inducing dopamine homeostasis through such neuronutrients may mitigate neurogenetic and epigenetic changes in neuroplasticity underlying these disorders, and that precision formulations guided by Genetic Addiction Risk Score (GARS) testing may repair inheritable brain reward circuitry deficiencies, improving cognitive recall and attenuating trauma's harmful epigenetic insults.
Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)
August 29, 2025
Gustavo N Silva, Virna G A Brandão, Kenneth Blum et al.
7 citations
Ketamine, an anesthetic, may protect the brain and reduce inflammation by blocking NMDA receptors, decreasing microglial activation, and lowering cytokines TNF and IL-6. A narrative review of existing literature suggests ketamine reduces excitotoxicity and inflammation, potentially contributing to neuroprotection in acute neurological injuries. The review underscores ketamine's potential as an adjunctive neuroprotective agent, warranting further clinical investigation to optimize its therapeutic use across neurological and psychiatric conditions.
Substance use & misuse
February 1, 2026
Kai Uwe Lewandrowski, Kenneth Blum, Sergio Schmidt et al.
Since 2000, suicide and opioid overdose rates have risen sharply. About one-third of people with major depressive disorder have treatment-resistant depression, creating an urgent need for new therapies. This narrative review synthesizes key preclinical and clinical findings on low-dose ketamine's rapid antidepressant effects. Low-dose ketamine quickly alleviates depressive symptoms, even in refractory depression. Proposed mechanisms include modulation of dopamine signaling via epigenetic neuroadaptation, interactions with D1/D2 receptor systems, optogenetic activation of D1 pathways, and changes in D2/D3 receptor availability. No consensus exists on its definitive mechanism of action. Ketamine's psychoactive properties and abuse potential underscore the need for enhanced clinical oversight and regulation.