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Pharmaceuticals
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Advances in Neuropharmacology of Drug Abuse
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Advances in Neuropharmacology of Drug Abuse

A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Pharmacology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 January 2025 | Viewed by 10081

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Stefania Chiappini

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Medical Sciences, UniCamillus International University of Health Sciences, Via di S. Alessandro 8, 00131 Rome, Italy
Interests: psychiatry; neuropsychopharmacology; addiction; SUD; drugs; toxicology; new psychoactive substances
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, the substance abuse scenario has changed considerably. Indeed, although the use of substances commonly considered 'traditional', such as THC, cocaine, and opioids, remains high, the use of medications to achieve psychoactive effects (known as 'pharming') and the advent of new psychoactive substances (NPS) have contributed to a change in the prevalence and consumption of substances. The effects of such substances can range from acute toxicity to death, depending on dosage, route of administration, and concomitant use of other psychoactive drugs. Clearly, the strictly pharmacological and toxicological aspects are not always clear, sometimes because the substance being taken, its properties, and possible pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interactions are not always known.

This Special Issue aims to provide an up-to-date overview of the pharmacology, clinical information, and toxicology of psychotropic drugs, both licit and illicit, and the effects associated with their use. Finally, it includes detection strategies that can be adopted in the initial clinical assessment of patients.

The journal Pharmaceuticals invites reviews, meta-analysis, brief reports, and original articles. Topics may include:

  • psychopharmacology, toxicology, and pharmacology of psychotropics;
  • addiction and drug misuse;
  • and finally, new psychoactive substances.

The collection of manuscripts will be published as a Special Issue of the journal.

Dr. Stefania Chiappini
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceuticals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • neuropharmacology
  • drug abuse
  • addiction
  • substance abuse

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 1937 KiB  
Article
Is There a Risk for Semaglutide Misuse? Focus on the Food and Drug Administration’s FDA Adverse Events Reporting System (FAERS) Pharmacovigilance Dataset
by Stefania Chiappini, Rachel Vickers-Smith, Daniel Harris, G. Duccio Papanti Pelletier, John Martin Corkery, Amira Guirguis, Giovanni Martinotti, Stefano L. Sensi and Fabrizio Schifano
Pharmaceuticals 2023, 16(7), 994; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph16070994 - 11 Jul 2023
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 6427
Abstract
Recent media reports commented about a possible issue of the misuse of antidiabetics related to molecules promoted as a weight-loss treatment in non-obese people. We evaluated here available pharmacovigilance misuse/abuse signals related to semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogue, in comparison to [...] Read more.
Recent media reports commented about a possible issue of the misuse of antidiabetics related to molecules promoted as a weight-loss treatment in non-obese people. We evaluated here available pharmacovigilance misuse/abuse signals related to semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogue, in comparison to other GLP-1 receptor agonists (albiglutide, dulaglutide, exenatide, liraglutide, lixisenatide, and tirzepatide) and the phentermine–topiramate combination. To acheieve that aim, we analyzed the Food and Drug Administration’s FDA Adverse Events Reporting System (FAERS) dataset, performing a descriptive analysis of adverse event reports (AERs) and calculating related pharmacovigilance measures, including the reporting odds ratio (ROR) and the proportional reporting ratio (PRR). During January 2018–December 2022, a total of 31,542 AERs involving the selected molecules were submitted to FAERS; most involved dulaglutide (n = 11,858; 37.6%) and semaglutide (n = 8249; 26.1%). In comparing semaglutide vs. the remaining molecules, the respective PRR values of the AERs ‘drug abuse’, ‘drug withdrawal syndrome’, ‘prescription drug used without a prescription’, and ‘intentional product use issue’ were 4.05, 4.05, 3.60, and 1.80 (all < 0.01). The same comparisons of semaglutide vs. the phentermine–topiramate combination were not associated with any significant differences. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study documenting the misuse/abuse potential of semaglutide in comparison with other GLP1 analogues and the phentermine–topiramate combination. The current findings will need to be confirmed by further empirical investigations to fully understand the safety profile of those molecules. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Neuropharmacology of Drug Abuse)
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Review

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16 pages, 1849 KiB  
Review
Substance Addiction Rehabilitation Drugs
by Shu Yuan, Si-Cong Jiang, Zhong-Wei Zhang, Zi-Lin Li and Jing Hu
Pharmaceuticals 2024, 17(5), 615; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph17050615 - 10 May 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1689
Abstract
The relapse rate of substance abusers is high, and addiction rehabilitation adjunct drugs need to be developed urgently. There have been numerous reports on blocking the formation of substance addiction, but studies on drugs that can alleviate withdrawal symptoms are very limited. Both [...] Read more.
The relapse rate of substance abusers is high, and addiction rehabilitation adjunct drugs need to be developed urgently. There have been numerous reports on blocking the formation of substance addiction, but studies on drugs that can alleviate withdrawal symptoms are very limited. Both the dopamine transporter (DAT) hypothesis and D3 dopamine receptor (D3R) hypothesis are proposed. DAT activators reduce the extracellular dopamine level, and D3R antagonists reduce the neuron’s sensitivity to dopamine, both of which may exacerbate the withdrawal symptoms subsequently. The D3R partial agonist SK608 has biased signaling properties via the G-protein-dependent pathway but did not induce D3R desensitization and, thus, may be a promising drug for the withdrawal symptoms. Drugs for serotoninergic neurons or GABAergic neurons and anti-inflammatory drugs may have auxiliary effects to addiction treatments. Drugs that promote structural synaptic plasticity are also discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Neuropharmacology of Drug Abuse)
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Other

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13 pages, 698 KiB  
Systematic Review
Examining the Myth of Prescribed Stimulant Misuse among Individuals with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Systematic Review
by Tommaso Callovini, Delfina Janiri, Daniele Segatori, Giulia Mastroeni, Georgios D. Kotzalidis, Marco Di Nicola and Gabriele Sani
Pharmaceuticals 2024, 17(8), 1076; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph17081076 - 16 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1057
Abstract
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 [...] Read more.
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 prescribed stimulant therapy is a rational concern or a false myth. This systematic review was carried out according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 Statement. We searched PubMed databases for articles indexed up to 12th July 2023, without language restrictions. Our systematic search generated 996 unique articles. After a full-text revision, 13 studies met the eligibility criteria and were included in the systematic review. In the 50% of the study on the adult population, the reported prevalence of stimulant misuse was 0%. In other studies, the range of stimulant misuse rates varied from 2% to 29%, with no available data specifically focusing on the youth population. It has been noted that misuse of prescribed stimulant treatment is linked with particular subject characteristics, such as older age, prior or more frequent use of ADHD medication, use of short-acting medication, and a history of alcohol/substance misuse diagnosis. Despite certain limitations, our study highlights that while a significant proportion of individuals undergoing psychostimulant treatment for ADHD follow their prescribed medication regimens without resorting to misuse behaviors, there is variability in adherence, with occurrences of misuse behaviors. The misuse of prescribed ADHD treatment appears to be associated with distinct subject characteristics, underscoring the importance for tailored interventions addressing the specific requirements of these individuals to attain optimal treatment outcomes while mitigating misuse risks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Neuropharmacology of Drug Abuse)
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