Frontiers in Pharmacology
December 1, 2025
Tiejia Jiang, Rui Zhao
Esketamine provides relatively good pain control after surgery and is linked to a lower risk of postpartum depression, but this finding is not stable. In pregnant women over 30, esketamine may increase the risk of dizziness. The study was conducted entirely in China, which limits how broadly the results apply.
Frontiers in Pharmacology
November 19, 2025
Yan Du, Qing Ma, Xingcui Gao et al.
No Summary
Frontiers in Pharmacology
January 1, 2016
Bokor, Petra, Frecska, Ede, Winkelman, Michael
Ayahuasca, an Amazonian psychoactive brew containing β-carboline and tryptamine derivatives, remains central to healing ceremonies among indigenous and mestizo populations in South America and is increasingly used worldwide. A growing number of studies indicate that its psychotherapeutic potential is based largely on strong serotonergic effects, while the sigma-1 receptor agonist effect of its active ingredient dimethyltryptamine may allow scientific verification of the diversity of conditions treated in ethnomedical observations. In appropriate therapeutic or ritual settings with proper preparation, mindset, and integration, ayahuasca has proven effective for treating substance dependence. The article argues that therapeutic effects are best understood from a bio-psycho-socio-spiritual model, and that ayahuasca may act against chronic low-grade inflammation and oxidative stress via the sigma-1 receptor.
Frontiers in Pharmacology
July 25, 2024
Yasunori Aoki, Malcom Rowland, Yuichi Sugiyama
Intra-Target Microdosing (ITM), a Phase 0 clinical approach, can engage targets at levels similar to systemically administered therapeutic doses for certain compounds, but its probability of success notably decreases when the predicted therapeutic dose exceeds 10 mg. Key factors influencing ITM success include lower dissociation constants, higher systemic clearance, and optimal receptor abundance in the target organ. Target tissues with relatively low blood flow rates and high drug clearance capacities are more conducive to successful ITM. The findings highlight the need to consider each drug's unique pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties alongside the physiological characteristics of the target tissue when determining ITM suitability.
Frontiers in Pharmacology
July 16, 2024
H. Markus Weiss, Yuichi Sugiyama, Esther van Duijn
Phase 0 microdosing—testing compounds at subtherapeutic doses in humans—enables early decisions in drug development with a reduced preclinical safety package. Its uptake has been slow despite advantages such as better decisions informed by early human data, reduced animal experiments, and access to vulnerable populations. Intratarget microdosing (ITM) enhances this approach by assessing safety or efficacy-related biomarkers beyond pharmacokinetics, including target expression via Positron Emission Tomography. The CIVO platform, an injectable device for surface-accessible tumors, can microdose up to eight drugs simultaneously and generate human pharmacodynamic data safely, improving translation over animal efficacy data.
Frontiers in Pharmacology
January 17, 2018
S. Gruber, Kelly A. Sagar, M. Dahlgren et al.
After 3 months of medical marijuana (MMJ) treatment, patients showed improved performance on a cognitive interference task and changes in brain activation patterns in the cingulate cortex and frontal regions, with activation patterns becoming more similar to those of healthy controls, suggesting a potential normalization of brain function. Patients also reported improvements in clinical state and health-related measures, along with notable decreases in prescription medication use, particularly opioids and benzodiazepines. These findings indicate that MMJ use may have different effects than recreational marijuana use, which has been linked to decrements in task performance and altered brain activation.