The Pharmacology of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide: A Review

Abstract

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) was synthesized in 1938 and its psychoactive effects discovered in 1943. It was used during the 1950s and 1960s as an experimental drug in psychiatric research for producing so-called "experimental psychosis" by altering neurotransmitter system and in psychotherapeutic procedures ("psycholytic" and "psychedelic" therapy). From the mid 1960s, it became an illegal drug of abuse with widespread use that continues today. With the entry of new methods of research and better study oversight, scientific interest in LSD has resumed for brain research and experimental treatments. Due to the lack of any comprehensive review since the 1950s and the widely dispersed experimental literature, the present review focuses on all aspects of the pharmacology and psychopharmacology of LSD. A thorough search of the experimental literature regarding the pharmacology of LSD was performed and the extracted results are given in this review. (Psycho-) pharmacological research on LSD was extensive and produced nearly 10,000 scientific papers. The pharmacology of LSD is complex and its mechanisms of action are still not completely understood. LSD is physiologically well tolerated and psychological reactions can be controlled in a medically supervised setting, but complications may easily result from uncontrolled use by layman. Actually there is new interest in LSD as an experimental tool for elucidating neural mechanisms of (states of) consciousness and there are recently discovered treatment options with LSD in cluster headache and with the terminally ill.

Acute Effects of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in Healthy Subjects

“…Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a prototypical classic hallucinogen (1,2). The psychotropic effects of LSD were discovered in 1943 by Albert Hofmann in Basel (3).…”

Development and validation of a rapid turboflow LC-MS/MS method for the quantification of LSD and 2-oxo-3-hydroxy LSD in serum and urine samples of emergency toxicological cases

“…1 Additionally, the method will be used for the analysis of both blood and urine samples from a 2 double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.…”

Desenvolvimento de métodos voltamétricos para a quantificação de LSD utilizando-se o eletrodo de pasta de carbono modificado com complexo de base de Schiff

“…A tolerância também se desenvolve rapidamente, após 3 ou 4 dias de uso contínuo, mas pode ser revertida após 3 dias de abstinência. 15,23 É metabolizado pelo fígado de forma rápida, sofrendo biotransformações, o que resulta em até 1% da sua forma original sendo excretada na urina. 15,22,23 Os metabolitos do LSD, identificados em urina e sangue humanos, incluem o N-desmetil-LSD (Nor-LSD), etilamida do ácido lisérgico (LAE), 2-oxo-LSD, 2-oxo-3-hidroxi-LSD, 13-hidroxi-LSD e 14-hidroxi-LSD glicuronida, Figura 5.…”

“…24 Devido ao metabolismo rápido, com tempo de meia vida de 3-6 horas, as análises de traços de LSD na urina e soro ser tornam particularmente difícil, sendo muitas vezes necessária a inclusão destes metabólitos em sua detecção. 15 22-29…”

“…7,23 Não é observada a dependência física ou sintomas de abstinência, mas o usuário pode desenvolver a dependência psicológica, por tentar sempre reproduzir os insights experimentados durante o uso da droga. 8,15,23,30 A dose tóxica e letal do LSD não foi definida em estudos feitos com humanos com essa droga, mas em animais, como o camundongo, esse valor pode chegar até 60 mg/Kg. 7,17…”