Psychostimulants - Science topic

Background It has been suggested that neuroborreliosis in children can manifest as psychiatric neurodevelopmental disorders or cause long‐term neurodevelopmental sequelae. However, previous studies were limited by size and design. Methods We performed a nationwide, population‐based, matched cohort study in Denmark between 1995 and 2021. We include...

Catha edulis, commonly known as “Khat,” is a large shrub that is native to the Arabian Peninsula (particularly Yemen) and some African countries, including Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, and the plant is used traditionally for its psychostimulant, euphoric, and analgesic properties. C. edulis contains several pharmacologically active compounds, but...

Chronic methamphetamine (METH) use, a prevalent psychostimulant, is known to impair attention, yet the cellular mechanisms driving these deficits remain poorly understood. Here, we employed a rat model of repeated passive METH injections and evaluated attentional performance using the 5-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT). Using single-nucle...

Psychostimulants can be employed as a countermeasure to cognitive declines resulting from insufficient sleep. Although caffeine is the most consumed psychostimulant, consumption can cause adverse side-effects, including sleep disturbance. Therefore, there is interest in identifying alternative supplements that improve cognitive performance without...

Prodromal signs of Parkinson’s disease (PD), including vocal communication deficits, are poorly understood and do not respond adequately to current pharmacologic treatments. Norepinephrine dysfunction is involved early in PD; thus, drug therapies targeting norepinephrine may be useful as a treatment of prodromal signs. This study used a validated,...

For over seven decades, dopamine receptor 2 (D2 receptor) antagonists remained the mainstay treatment for neuropsychiatric disorders. Although it is effective for treating hyperdopaminergic symptoms, it is often ineffective for treating negative and cognitive deficits. Trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) is a novel, pharmacological target in...

Caffeine, a natural psychostimulant, enhances arousal by inhibiting the effects of adenosine on the dopamine pathway. This study aimed to analyze and compare caffeine concentrations in seven robusta coffee samples (coded RC) and five black tea bags (coded BT) using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitative tests employed Dragendorff re...

Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in narcissistic personality traits and empathy deficits in adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) after pharmacotherapy, focusing on psychostimulant treatment. Understanding these comorbidities is crucial for optimizing treatment and improving therapeutic outcomes....

This retrospective, real-world clinical assessment of patients receiving consecutive viloxazine ER prescriptions for ADHD showed: – no significant increase in adverse experience scores following viloxazine ER addition – reduction in average dosage of concomitantly-used stimulants over 3-6 months, and – reductions in overall number of concomitantly...

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants such as fluoxetine are used in combination with the medical psychostimulant methylphenidate (Ritalin) in a variety of treatments in children and adults. Unintended co-exposure to these psychotropic medications also occurs in patients on SSRIs who abuse methylphenidate as a “cognitive enh...

The serotonin transporter (SERT), responsible for the reuptake of released serotonin, serves as a major target for antidepressants and psychostimulants. Nevertheless, refining the mechanistic models for SERT remains challenging. Here, we expand the molecular understanding of the binding of ions, substrates, and inhibitors to SERT by incorporating t...

Bipolar disorder’s etiology involves genetics, environmental factors, and gene–environment interactions, underlying its heterogeneous nature and treatment complexity. In 2020, Forstner and colleagues catalogued 378 sequence variants co-segregating with familial bipolar disorder. A notable candidate was an R59Q missense mutation in the PDZ (PSD-95/D...

Introduction Schizophrenia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are psychiatric disorders that have a profound impact on patients and healthcare systems globally. There is preliminary evidence suggesting a potential association between the two in terms of symptomatology and genetic underpinning. There is a paucity of guidance regardi...

An important body of literature suggests that exerting intense cognitive effort causes mental fatigue and can lead to unhealthy behaviors such as indulging in high-calorie food and taking drugs. Whereas this effect has been mostly explained in terms of weakening cognitive control, cognitive effort may also bias behavioral choices by amplifying the...

Importance The HEALing Communities Study (HCS) evaluated the effectiveness of the Communities That HEAL (CTH) intervention in preventing fatal overdoses amidst the US opioid epidemic. Objective To evaluate the impact of the CTH intervention on total drug overdose deaths and overdose deaths involving combinations of opioids with psychostimulants or...

Rationale No drugs are currently validated to treat psychostimulant use disorder (PUD). Pathophysiological studies consistently highlight the contribution of cholinergic mechanisms in psychostimulant use, including the vulnerability to PUD, paving the way for potential therapeutic strategies. Objectives The aim of this systematic review is to desc...

Background Individuals with substance use disorder (SUD) are characterized by loss of control in drug use, such as increased impulsivity. Methamphetamine and methcathinone are psychostimulants, the use of which is accompanied by a high level of impulsivity. Whether individuals with methamphetamine use disorder (MUD) and methcathinone use disorder (...

Objective Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), prevalent in 5% of children worldwide, impacts academic performance and often coexists with psychiatric disorders. Psychostimulant medications are primary treatments for ADHD, enhancing dopamine to reduce symptoms. However, dopamine increase may cause appetite loss. This pioneering study in...

Caffeine which is 1,3,7-trimethyl xanthine is consumed all over the world and it must be the one of the oldest beverages found. The psychostimulant affects our body through its various components such as caffeic acid, quinic acid, chlorogenic acid, coumarins, flavonoids, and anthocyanins. Caffeine offers cognitive enhancement, physical performance,...

Background Psychostimulants such as amphetamine salts and methylphenidate are commonly prescribed for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, their non-medical use is also prevalent. Both medical and non-medical use of these substances can lead to a range of side effects. Despite this, there is limited research on...

Cocaine use disorder (CUD) is a severe public health problem, and currently, there is no FDA-approved medication for its treatment. Atypical dopamine (DA) transporter (DAT) inhibitors display low addictive liability by themselves and may have therapeutic potential for treatment of psychostimulant use disorders. Here, we report that RDS04-010, a nov...

Background: Caffeine is a well-known psychostimulant reputed to alleviate the deleterious effects of sleep deprivation. Nevertheless, caffeine can alter sleep duration and quality, particularly during recovery sleep. We evaluated the effects of acute caffeine intake on the duration and quality of recovery sleep following total sleep deprivation (T...

Background There are increasing reports of the misuse of prescription psychostimulants for cognitive enhancement together with recreational cannabis. This raises a concern that chronic use of cannabis high in Δ⁹-THC may alter the sensitivity to amphetamines. In this exploratory study we hypothesized chronic exposure to Δ⁹-THC through vaporized cann...

Background Methylphenidate is a psychostimulant treatment widely prescribed in children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Although published studies are reassuring regarding the safety and tolerability of this treatment in the short and long term, there are case studies that have reported the possibility of serious adve...

Objectives The purpose of this study was to provide insights into which patient-level characteristics are associated with a positive treatment response among patients whose primary drug of choice was a psychostimulant with a particular emphasis on understanding the impact of age at first use and co-occurring psychiatric comorbidities. Methods We u...

Existem diversos tipos de psicoestimulantes, desde os mais simples como cafeína e bebidas energéticas, até drogas como o ecstasy. Além destes, há outros medicamentos como metilfenidato e lisdexanfetamina, que são o foco deste artigo. Estes psicofármacos são considerados seguros para aqueles que possuem transtornos, como em pessoas com Transtorno do...

One of the most confusing conditions is autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), for which neither a precise cause nor a conclusive cure has yet been discovered. Autism can be defined as a disorder that typically manifests in children at a young age and affects many areas of their development. It develops in an abnormal way, exhibiting an unbalanced socia...

Background: Amphetamine is a commonly abused psychostimulant that increases synaptic catecholamine levels and impairs executive functions. However, it is unknown how acute amphetamine affects brain areas involved in executive control, such as the prefrontal cortex. We studied this problem in mice using interval timing, which requires participants t...

The opioid crisis remains a significant public health concern in the United States (U.S.), as the nation is currently facing the fourth wave of the opioid crisis characterized by poly drug use involving opioids and psychostimulants.

Persistent neurochemical and biological disturbances resulting from repeated cycles of drug reward, withdrawal, and relapse contribute to drug dependence. Methamphetamine (MA) is a psychostimulant with substantial abuse potential and neurotoxic effects, primarily affecting monoamine neurotransmitter systems in the brain. In this study, we aimed to...

This study aimed to evaluate the utility of serum folic acid testing in children and adolescents in a developed country without mandatory folic acid food fortification and to identify patients at risk for folic acid deficiency. In this cross-sectional study, records from primary care and hospitals were reviewed for patients aged 0–18 years who unde...

Schizophrenia is a chronic psychotic disorder comprising positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and cognitive deficits. Negative symptoms are associated with stigma, worse functional outcomes, and a significant deterioration in quality of life. Clinical diagnosis is challenging despite its significance, and current treatments offer little improvemen...

A diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) offers tangible and psychological benefits to college students. These incentives lead some students to exaggerate symptoms on self-report rating scales. Although validity tests can detect noncredible responding, they are seldom used by clinicians who conduct adult ADHD evaluations. Many...

Methamphetamine is a synthetic psychostimulant that is showing a rising trend of usage among adolescents and youths. Its harmful side effects and high risk of developing addiction is a public health problem. Recognizing the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) on methamphetamine is critical in the planning of an intervention strategy. Currentl...

Background In 2019, the world faced a pandemic brought about by a severe acute respiratory infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus. The spread of this virus has profoundly affected societies, particularly in terms of their economic, human and social dimensions, as well as their healthcare systems. Several restrictive measures (reduced social interacti...

Problématique : Le trouble déficit de l’attention – hyperactivité (TDAH) est caractérisé par une perturbation des fonctions attentionnelles et de la planification des tâches (fonctions exécutives), plus ou moins associée à une hyperactivité - impulsivité. Les psychostimulants, qui ont une action dopaminergique, constituent la principale classe phar...

Rationale Relapse to drug use is a major clinical challenge in the treatment of addictive disorders, including psychostimulant use and may be exacerbated by reduced sensitivity to natural, non-drug reward. Given the relatively limited set of outcomes, and short withdrawal time in rodent studies, we conducted a more detailed assessment of the respon...

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 3-4 of Canadian adults and 2.6% of adults worldwide. Its symptoms include inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. Tough ADHD is known to affect several brain functions and cognitive processes, little is known regarding its impact on perceptual oscillations. This study compared the temporal feature...

The illicit use of the psychostimulant methamphetamine (METH) is a major concern, with overdose deaths increasing substantially since the mid-2010s. One challenge to treating METH use disorder (MUD), as with other psychostimulant use disorders, is that there are no available pharmacotherapies that can reduce cravings and help individuals achieve ab...

Drug-induced or associated vasculitis is a prevalent form of vasculitis that resembles primary idiopathic antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody (ANCA) vasculitis (AAV). Cocaine is a diffuse psychostimulant drug and levamisole is a synthetic compound used to cut cocaine. Their abuse may result in a spectrum of autoimmune manifestations which could...

Schizophrenia, as one of the most common disorders from the psychotic spectrum is most commonly detected in the phase of first psychosis and may pose a diagnostic challenge, as commonly comprise a heterogeneous group of schizophrenias, with distinct clinical presentations. If it detected in its prodromal phase without clearly developed psychotic sy...

Introduction Narcolepsy is a rare but disabling neurological disorder involving disruption of the sleep-wake cycle that is often under- or misdiagnosed (Barateau L, et al . J Sleep Res. 2022;31(4):e13631). It is characterized by a classical tetrad of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), cataplexy, hypnagogic hallucinations, and sleep paralysis. Narc...

Introduction Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects approximately 5% of adults. Individuals with ADHD often display symptoms of inattention, including poor time management and difficulty concentrating and completing tasks. Hyperactivity frequently attenuates over time and transforms into inner...

Over the years, the growing “epidemic” spread of cocaine use represents a crucial public health and social problem worldwide. According to the 2023 World Drug Report, 0.4% of the world’s population aged 15 to 64 report using cocaine; this number corresponds to approximately 24.6 million cocaine users worldwide and approximately 1 million subjects w...

(1) Background: Methylphenidate (MP) and amphetamine (AMP) are psychostimulants that are widely prescribed to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. In recent years, 6.1 million children received an ADHD diagnosis, and nearly 2/3 of these children were prescribed psychostimulants for treatment. The purpose of this rev...

Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has dramatically reduced mortality in people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), but it does not completely eradicate the virus from the brain. Patients with long-term HIV-1 infection often show neurocognitive impairment, which severely affects the quality of life of those infected. Methamphetamine (ME...

The literature emphasizes the importance of addressing the misuse of ADHD medications as a potential significant healthcare issue within the general population. Nevertheless, there are no systematic reviews that specifically examine whether the misuse of psychostimulant medication among clinical populations diagnosed with ADHD who are undergoing pr...

Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) is an over-the-counter psychostimulant that, when used in appropriate amounts, is generally considered safe. However, excessive use can cause various symptoms and, in severe cases, can even be life-threatening. A 34-year-old man with a reported history of psychiatric disorders was found unresponsive at his girlfri...

The Nordic countries have rather homogenous populations and similar health care systems, and one could therefore expect comparable levels of psychopathology and psychotropic drug use. However, recent studies show pronounced variations in psychotropic drug use among children and adolescents from different Nordic countries. Therefore, we aimed to con...

Multi-domain characterization and a new fast detection method for acute illegal psychostimulants abuse detection based on waking-state EEG of mice is proposed in this paper. To get corftical electroencephalogram (EEG), three groups of mice were injected with cocaine (Coca), methamphetamine (Meth), and saline (Sali) respectively following the experi...

Aims Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by the core symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsivity, and associated functional impairment. Psychostimulants are the most commonly prescribed medication for ADHD in children and adolescents. The use of psychostimulants in children and adolescents requi...

Background Drug overdose is an escalating public health crisis in the United States (U.S.). This study evaluated the temporal trend of drug overdose-related deaths in the U.S., with an emphasis on identifying disparities across subpopulations and the contributing drugs. Methods Using the nationwide death dataset from the National Vital Statistics...

Aims Interventions to support people with autism are multidimensional, but primarily psychosocial in nature. These interventions include behavioural, educational and support therapies. Some psychotropic medications are used to manage medical and psychiatric comorbidities associated with autism, which interfere with daily social and occupational fun...

Rationale The use of illicit opioids has arguably never been more risky; street drug potency can be dangerously high, is often unknown to the consumer, and results in multiple daily fatalities worldwide. Furthermore, substance use disorder (SUD) is associated with increased maladaptive, risky decisions in laboratory-based gambling tasks. Animal stu...

Introduction: The chronic use of psychostimulants increases the risk of addiction and, there is no specific pharmacologic treatment for psychostimulant addiction. The vasopressin (AVP) system is a possible pharmacological target in drug addiction. Previous results obtained in our laboratory showed that amphetamine (AMPH) treatment decreases lateral...

This study aims to describe movement disorders secondary to cocaine use. To our knowledge, while these presentations have been previously reported in the literature, a comprehensive review has not been published yet. We searched six databases from 1986 to 2022 without language restriction. Case reports, case series, and literature reviews have been...

A substantial number of patients develop cognitive dysfunction after contracting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), significantly contributing to long-coronavirus disease (COVID) morbidity. Despite the urgent and overwhelming clinical need, there are currently no proven interventions to treat post-COVID cognitive dysfunct...

Introduction Caffeine is a psychostimulant possessing arousal, motor activation, and reinforcing properties, which is consumed daily by most adolescents aged 12–19 years. Although current understanding of the implications of adolescent caffeine consumption for school behaviors remains incomplete, studies have shown that in addition to acute effects...

KEYWORDS Autism symptoms, genetic variation, autism, behavioral therapy and pervasive development disorder treatment ABSTRACT One of the most confusing conditions is autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), for which neither a precise cause nor a conclusive cure has yet been discovered. Autism can be defined as a disorder that typically manifests in child...

Background Malignant catatonia is a potentially lethal neuropsychiatric syndrome characterized by psychomotor abnormalities and autonomic instability. Patients with this syndrome require immediate treatment. Various psychiatric conditions and nonpsychiatric medical problems can trigger malignant catatonia. Use of psychostimulant drugs, including me...

Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world due to its unique aroma and psychostimulant effects, mainly due to the presence of caffeine. In recent years, experimental evidence has shown that the moderate consumption of coffee (3/4 cups per day) is safe and beneficial to human health, revealing protective effects against numerou...

Background and Purpose New psychoactive substances such as N‐ethylpentylone (NEP) are continuously emerging in the illicit drug market, and knowledge of their effects and risks, which may vary between sexes, is scarce. Our present study compares some key effects of NEP in male and female mice. Experimental Approach Psychostimulant, rewarding and r...

The regulation of dopamine (DA) removal from the synaptic cleft is a crucial process in neurotransmission and is facilitated by the sodium‐ and chloride‐coupled dopamine transporter DAT. Psychostimulant drugs, cocaine, and amphetamine, both block the uptake of DA, while amphetamine also triggers the release of DA. As a result, they prolong or even...

Substance use disorder (SUD) represents a substantial challenge in neuropsychiatric medicine, with the molecular mechanisms underlying its etiology remaining elusive. The molecular underpinnings of SUD suggest a pivotal role for circular RNAs (circRNAs) in its pathophysiology. Herein, we present a study on circHomer1, a circRNA enriched in neurons,...

Background An Elimination Diet (ED) or Healthy Diet (HD) may be effective in reducing symptoms of Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), but long‐term maintenance effects and feasibility have never been examined. Methods One‐year prospective follow‐up of a sample of 165 children (5–12 years) with ADHD randomized (unblinded; 1:1) to 5 wee...