Correia Beatriz, Fernandes Joana, Botica Maria João, Ferreira Carla, Quintas Alexandre
Laboratório de Ciências Forenses e Psicológicas Egas Moniz, Campus Universitário-Quinta da Granja, Monte de Caparica, 2825-084 Caparica, Portugal.
Instituto Português de Oncologia de Lisboa Francisco Gentil (IPO), Alameda Prof. Hernâni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal.
Medicines (Basel). 2022 Mar 1;9(3):19. doi: 10.3390/medicines9030019.
Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) are compounds of natural and synthetic origin, similar to traditional drugs of abuse. NPS are involved in a contemporary trend whose origin lies in a thinner balance between legitimate therapeutic drug research and legislative control. The contemporary NPS trend resulted from the replacement of MDMA by synthetic cathinones in 'ecstasy' during the 2000s. The most common NPS are synthetic cannabinoids and synthetic cathinones. Interestingly, during the last 50 years, these two classes of NPS have been the object of scientific research for a set of health conditions.
Searches were conducted in the online database PubMed using boolean equations.
Synthetic cannabinoids displayed protective and therapeutic effects for inflammatory, neurodegenerative and oncologic pathologies, activating the immune system and reducing inflammation. Synthetic cathinones act similarly to amphetamine-type stimulants and can be used for depression and chronic fatigue.
Despite the scientific advances in this field of research, pharmacological application of NPS is being jeopardized by fatalities associated with their recreational use. This review addresses the scientific achievements of these two classes of NPS and the toxicological data, ending with a reflection on Illicit and NPS control frames.
新型精神活性物质(NPS)是天然和合成来源的化合物,类似于传统滥用药物。NPS涉及一种当代趋势,其起源在于合法治疗药物研究与立法控制之间更微妙的平衡。当代NPS趋势源于21世纪初“摇头丸”中合成卡西酮取代了摇头丸。最常见的NPS是合成大麻素和合成卡西酮。有趣的是,在过去50年里,这两类NPS一直是针对一系列健康状况进行科学研究的对象。
使用布尔方程在在线数据库PubMed中进行检索。
合成大麻素对炎症、神经退行性和肿瘤性疾病显示出保护和治疗作用,可激活免疫系统并减轻炎症。合成卡西酮的作用类似于苯丙胺类兴奋剂,可用于治疗抑郁症和慢性疲劳。
尽管该研究领域取得了科学进展,但NPS的药理学应用正因其娱乐性使用导致的死亡而受到威胁。本综述阐述了这两类NPS的科学成果和毒理学数据,最后对非法药物和NPS控制框架进行了反思。