Substance Use Disorders
Vincenzo Berghella in Maternal-Fetal Evidence Based Guidelines, 2022
Amphetamines are a group of synthetic stimulants which are structurally similar to norepinephrine [155]. Amphetamines increase levels of norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine by increasing release and blocking re-uptake [156]. Street names for amphetamines include Dexies (dextroampheamine), Bennies (Benzedrine), Speed, Ice, and Crystal (methamphetamine). Bath salts are often call Blizzard, Cloud 9, Ivory Wave, or Meow [154]. Amphetamines can be injected, snorted, smoked (78.3% for methamphetamines), or taken orally or anally [157]. Ecstasy is typically taken as a pill but is also found in a powder form referred to as “Molly”. Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) is sometimes referred to as “Liquid Ecstasy” but is chemically and pharmacologically unrelated to 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine.
Drug abuse in pregnancy: Marijuana, LSD, cocaine, amphetamines, alcohol, and opiates
Hung N. Winn, Frank A. Chervenak, Roberto Romero in Clinical Maternal-Fetal Medicine Online, 2021
MA, the most popular amphetamine, can be smoked, snorted, injected, orally ingested, or administered anally. Smoking and injection allow rapid uptake of the drug into the brain, and the user experiences a “rush” that lasts only a few minutes. Snorting and ingestion produce euphoria, which lasts longer. Amphetamines stimulate the release of neurotransmitters and interfere with their reuptake at the nerve terminal (3,46). The catecholamine excess accounts for amphetamine’s peripheral alpha and beta actions and central nervous system (CNS) stimulant effects of vasoconstriction and bronchodilation, increased systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and an increased respiratory rate. An enhanced perception of environmental stimuli, mood elevation, and a decrease in hunger and fatigue are thought to result from amphetamine’s ability to stimulate the reticular activating system. High doses of amphetamines can cause hypertension, retinal damage, cardiac seizures, stroke, and death. Chronic use can lead to anxiety, insomnia, hallucinations, confusion, psychosis headache, pallor or flushing, palpitations, blood pressure instability, and cardiac arrhythmias (3).
Consciousness, Sleep and Hypnosis, Meditation, and Psychoactive Drugs
Mohamed Ahmed Abd El-Hay in Understanding Psychology for Medicine and Nursing, 2019
The immediate effects of non-medical use of amphetamines are increased concentration and alertness, euphoria, mood elevation, and a sense of well-being, and an increase in energy and a reduction in fatigue. Amphetamines can be used orally, snorted, or injected intravenously. Tolerance develops quickly, and the user needs increasingly larger doses to produce the desired effect. Symptoms of use will show up immediately if it is injected, within 3–5 minutes if it is snorted and within 15–20 minutes if it is ingested. When tolerance develops to oral doses to the point at which they are no longer effective, intravenous amphetamines are used to produce an immediate pleasant experience (a “flash” or “rush”). This sensation is followed by irritability and discomfort, which can be overcome only by an additional injection.
Neurotoxic and cardiotoxic effects of N-methyl-1-(naphthalen-2-yl)propan-2-amine (methamnetamine) and 1-phenyl-2-pyrrolidinylpentane (prolintane)
Published in Drug and Chemical Toxicology, 2023
Sohee Jeong, Kyung Sik Yoon, Jin-Moo Lee, Eun Sung Jo, Dojung Kim, Sun Ok Choi
Phenethylamine is one of the most widely used NPSs and contains amphetamine, methamphetamine, and MDMA (UNODC 2020). Especially, the drugs containing amphetamine act as sympathetic stimulants when administered to the human body. They produce excitatory responses and interact with dopamine and norepinephrine receptors. Moreover, they target the dopaminergic system and increase the levels of excitatory neurotransmitters in the brain. The United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances established regulations for amphetamine, which led the illegal drug users to use NPSs instead of amphetamine. The MNA and prolintane used in this study are CNS stimulants with similar structural and pharmacological properties to amphetamine (Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare 2015). Side-effects of amphetamine use include insomnia, neurosis and hallucinogenic mental illness. Furthermore, individuals who abuse it are at a high risk of becoming dependent.
What value do norepinephrine/dopamine dual reuptake inhibitors have to the current treatment of adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) treatment armamentarium?
Published in Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy, 2022
Giulio Perugi, Ugo De Rosa, Margherita Barbuti
Amphetamines primarily act by inhibiting the reuptake of dopamine and norepinephrine through inhibition of DAT and NET. They also increase dopaminergic and noradrenergic transmission through inhibition of the vesicular monoamine transporter (VMAT-2), inhibition of catechol-methyltransferase (COMT), reduction in cytosolic monoamine oxidase (MAO) catabolism, and stimulation of the trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) [11,16,17]. In addition, amphetamine-induced NET blockade in the prefrontal cortex, resulting in increased noradrenaline levels and alpha-1 receptor activation, appears to change the firing pattern of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area that project to the nucleus accumbens [18]. Finally, amphetamines also appear to affect the glutamatergic, opioid and cholinergic systems [11].
The effects of minocycline in improving of methamphetamine withdrawal syndrome in male mice
Published in Drug and Chemical Toxicology, 2022
Hamed Ghavimi, Amir Sasan Bayani Ershadi, Samira Dastvar, Mir-Jamal Hosseini
It is established that withdrawal of a potent psychoactive drug like methamphetamine (METH) can provide depressive-like despair behaviors as well as reliable altered neurochemical properties in lab animals and can attain an appropriate model of depression in rodents (Barr et al.2002; Mouton et al.2016). Recent studies have revealed that mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress in the brain tissue are highly associated with depressive-like behaviors (Amini-Khoei et al.2017; Chen et al.2017; Haj-Mirzaian et al.2017). Studies have identified that mood disorders are accompanied by alterations in antioxidant enzymes (Gałecki et al.2009). The evidence implies that mitochondrial dysfunction and immune-inflammatory responses play a significant role in the pathophysiology of depression as well as neurotransmission abnormalities (Haj-Mirzaian et al.2018). It has been revealed that amphetamine deprived animals exhibit depressive-like symptoms in brain regions like hippocampus following the withdrawal syndrome (Haj-Mirzaian et al.2017).
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