Journal of clinical psychopharmacology
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J Clin Psychopharmacol · Oct 2012
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyAdd-on treatment of quetiapine for fibromyalgia: a pilot, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 12-week trial.
Recently, second-generation antipsychotic drugs have attracted interest in the treatment of chronic pain, including fibromyalgia (FM). Preliminary uncontrolled studies have shown that quetiapine treatment may be helpful for FM patients. In this trial, we sought to examine-for the first time-the efficacy and tolerability of quetiapine as a treatment for FM and its associated psychiatric symptoms. ⋯ Secondary outcomes included mood symptoms, sleep disturbances, and tender points. Using a low dose (mean = 132.2 mg) of quetiapine, we observed significant benefits of drug treatment on sleep, uncertain effects on FM and mood symptoms, but no effects on pain, in a small group of polymedicated FM patients. Quetiapine was generally well tolerated.
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J Clin Psychopharmacol · Oct 2012
Suspected and confirmed fatalities associated with mephedrone (4-methylmethcathinone, "meow meow") in the United Kingdom.
International media have been reporting about fatalities allegedly related to mephedrone, a popular recreational stimulant, but now a proportion of them have been confirmed. We aimed here at analyzing information relating to the circumstances of mephedrone-related deaths in the United Kingdom. ⋯ Present mortality data may suggest a significant level of caution when ingesting mephedrone. Limitations include an inability to determine the exact extent of risks associated with mephedrone consumption.
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J Clin Psychopharmacol · Aug 2012
Randomized Controlled TrialHuman abuse potential and cognitive effects of taranabant, a cannabinoid 1 receptor inverse agonist: a randomized, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled, crossover study in recreational polydrug users.
Taranabant is a cannabinoid 1 receptor inverse agonist that was in development for treatment of obesity. Because of central nervous system effects, the study was performed to assess the abuse potential and cognitive effects of taranabant in recreational polydrug users compared with phentermine, dronabinol, and placebo. ⋯ The phentermine and dronabinol results demonstrate the validity and sensitivity of the study. Taranabant did not consistently show stimulant/cannabis-like effects or abuse potential in recreational polydrug users, indicating that cannabinoid 1 receptor inverse agonists/antagonists are unlikely to be recreationally abused.
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J Clin Psychopharmacol · Aug 2012
Randomized Controlled TrialA Randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover pilot trial of the oral selective NR2B antagonist MK-0657 in patients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder.
Converging lines of evidence suggest that the glutamatergic system may play an increasingly important role in the development of novel therapeutics for major depressive disorder (MDD), particularly agents associated with rapid antidepressant effects. Diverse glutamatergic modulators targeting N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors have shown efficacy in MDD, but their associated psychotomimetic effects presently preclude their use in larger samples. This small, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover pilot study evaluated the potential antidepressant efficacy and tolerability of an oral formulation of the selective N-methyl-D-aspartate NR2B antagonist MK-0657 in patients with treatment-resistant MDD (TRD). ⋯ No serious or dissociative adverse effects were observed in patients receiving this oral formulation of MK-0657. Despite the small sample size, this pilot study suggests that an oral formulation of the NR2B antagonist MK-0657 may have antidepressant properties in TRD patients. Further studies with larger sample sizes are necessary to confirm these preliminary findings.