New psychoactive substances, or designer drugs, are currently a large group of substances, primarily of synthetic origin, which are designed and come on a shadow market in circumvention of the current law. The popularity of these substances among young people is due to the off-the-shelf availability, low cost, and expected safety compared to traditional drugs. As practice shows, a resulting intoxication is life-threatening.Currently, the ordered data on these substances classes, as well as clinical manifestations of poisoning related to their consumption is practically non-existent due to certain difficulties in their diagnosis. The review considers the main groups of new psychoactive substances (synthetic cathinones and cannabinoids, derivatives of piperazine, aminoindans) circulating in a shadow market. We have distinguished the basic mechanisms of their effect on human body and described the main manifestations of their consumption.When writing the review we used the data of specialized poison control medical centers, as well as the information obtained from users.
At present, there exists a vital problem of studying pathophysiological mechanisms of acute poisoning and the developing intoxication syndrome caused by taking psychoactive substances by the users, e.g. cathinones, to stimulate pharmacologically the effect of ethyl alcohol. A number of compounds with a narcogenic potential and some medicinal preparations, e.g. imipramine, are referred to the class of synthetic cathinones. The aim of the investigation was to study the effect of ethyl alcohol on animal behavior and the activity of some enzymes of the liver and the antioxidant system in acute imipramine poisoning. Materials and Methods. 167 patients of the Toxicological Center with poisoning by synthetic psychoactive substances and ethyl alcohol as well as 70 Wistar rats participated in the study. The animals were divided into 4 groups: those who were injected with physiological solution, imipramine, ethanol, and imipramine in combination with ethanol. Orientation and exploratory behavior of the rats, the activity of the liver and antioxidant system enzymes have been investigated. Results. It has been established that in acute ethanol and imipramine poisoning, restoration of orientation and exploratory behavior of the rats occurs more rapidly, inhibition of the enzymatic activity of the liver (ethanol dehydrogenase, lactate dehydrogenase) and the antioxidant system is noted but to a less extent than in acute imipramine intoxication.
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