Current Pharmaceutical Design

ISSN 1381-6128

2 papers in the library · 50 citations · publishing 2018

Papers

Rapid-Acting Antidepressants

Current Pharmaceutical Design October 19, 2018 Jeffrey M. Witkin, Daniel E. Knutson, Gabriel J. Rodriguez et al. 44 citations

Conventional antidepressants for major depression, which work by increasing monoamine neurotransmitters, can take weeks to produce a full response, a major limitation. This review describes compounds that provide immediate symptom relief, including ketamine, scopolamine, and newer agents like mGlu2/3 receptor antagonists, negative allosteric modulators of α5-containing GABAA receptors, and psychedelics. These rapid-acting drugs show large effect sizes and efficacy in treatment-resistant patients, though some have challenges with duration of effect and side effects. The proposed mechanism involves amplifying excitatory neurotransmission via AMPA receptors, triggered by increased glutamate efflux. Two compounds, GLYX-13 (Rapastinel) and esketamine, are in late-stage clinical development.

DOI: 10.2174/1381612824666180730104707 Pharmacology Intensive care medicine Chemistry

LSD Detection and Interpretation in Hair

Current Pharmaceutical Design January 30, 2018 Camille Richeval, Delphine Allorge, Xavier Vanhoye et al. 6 citations

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a potent hallucinogen active at very low doses, making its detection and quantification difficult in body fluids and especially in hair. This review examines the challenges of LSD hair analysis, noting that only ten published cases provide data on LSD concentrations in hair. Interpretation of results is complicated by possible pubic hair contamination from urine and limited understanding of how LSD incorporates into and remains stable in head and pubic hair. The absence of LSD in head hair does not rule out consumption, and positive results cannot reliably distinguish single from repeated use. Even a positive pubic hair result does not formally prove repeated LSD use.

DOI: 10.2174/1381612823666170622102943 Lysergic acid diethylamide Pubic hair Hair analysis Hallucinogen +10