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F. Schifano

The ‘Endless Trip’: Psychopathology and Psychopharmacology in the Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder/HPPD and the NPS. A systematic review

November 20, 2017 / Papers, Psychology, Publications / By / , , , , ,

Abstract

Hallucinogen-persisting perception disorder (HPPD) is a syndrome characterized by prolonged or reoccurring perceptual symptoms, reminiscent of acute hallucinogen effects. HPPD was associated with a broader range of LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide)-like substances, cannabis, methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), psilocybin, mescaline, and psychostimulants. The recent emergence of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) posed a critical concern regarding the new onset of psychiatric symptoms/syndromes, including cases of HPPD. Symptomatology mainly comprises visual disorders (i.e., geometric pseudo-hallucinations, haloes, flashes of colors/lights, motion-perception deficits, afterimages, micropsia, more acute awareness of floaters, etc.), even though depressive symptoms and thought disorders may be comorbidly present. Although HPPD was first described in 1954, it was just established as a fully syndrome in 2000, with the revised fourth version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR). HPPD neural substrates, risk factors, and aetiopathogenesys still largely remain unknown and under investigation, and many questions about its pharmacological targets remain unanswered too. A critical mini review on psychopathological bases, etiological hypothesis, and psychopharmacological approaches toward HPPD, including the association with some novel substances, are provided here, by means of a literature search on PubMed/Medline, Google Scholar, and Scopus databases without time restrictions, by using a specific set of keywords. Pharmacological and clinical issues are considered, and practical psychopharmacological recommendations and clinical guidelines are suggested.
Orsolini, L., Papanti, G. D., De Berardis, D., Guirguis, A., Corkery, J. M., & Schifano, F. (2017). The ‘Endless Trip’: Psychopathology and Psychopharmacology in the Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder/HPPD and the NPS. A systematic review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 8, 240. 10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00240
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The potential utility of some legal highs in CNS disorders

July 29, 2015 / Anxiety Disorders / PTSD, Depressive Disorders, Ketamine, LSD, MDMA, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Papers, Psychiatry & Medicine, Psychology, Publications, Substance Use Disorder / By / ,

Abstract

Over the last decade there has been an explosion of new drugs of abuse, so called legal highs or novel psychoactive substances (NPS). Many of these abused drugs have unknown pharmacology, but their biological effects can be anticipated from their molecular structure and possibly also from online user reports. When considered with the findings that some prescription medications are increasingly abused and that some abused drugs have been tested clinically one could argue that there has been a blurring of the line between drugs of abuse and clinically used drugs. In this review we examine these legal highs/NPS and consider whether, based on their known or predicted pharmacology, some might have the potential to be clinically useful in CNS disorders.

Davidson, C., & Schifano, F. (2015). The potential utility of some legal highs in CNS disorders. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2015.07.010
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