Serotonin 5-HT2A receptor antagonist

Last updated
Serotonin 5-HT2A receptor antagonist
Drug class
Class identifiers
Synonyms 5-HT2A antagonist
Use Insomnia, Parkinson's disease psychosis, hallucinogen antidotes (trip killers; against serotonergic psychedelics)
Mechanism of action Serotonin 5-HT2A receptor antagonism
Biological target Serotonin 5-HT2A receptor
Legal status

A serotonin 5-HT2A receptor antagonist, or simply 5-HT2A antagonist, is a drug which acts as an antagonist of the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor. [1] Aside from simple competitive antagonists, these drugs may also be inverse agonists of the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor. [2] [3] [4] [5]

They include non-selective agents like atypical antipsychotics, tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), tetracyclic antidepressants (TeCAs), and serotonin antagonists and reuptake inhibitors (SARIs) as well as selective agents. [1] [6] [7] Examples of non-selective serotonin 5-HT2A receptor antagonists include antipsychotics like chlorpromazine, clozapine, olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone, spiperone (spiroperidol), and ziprasidone; antihistamines like cyproheptadine, hydroxyzine, and LY-2624803; TCAs like amitriptyline, clomipramine, doxepin, imipramine, iprindole, and trimipramine; TeCAs like mianserin, mirtazapine, and esmirtazapine; SARIs and related like trazodone, nefazodone, mepiprazole, niaprazine, and lubazodone; and others like adatanserin, cyclobenzaprine, deramciclane, flibanserin, metergoline, metitepine (methiothepin), opiranserin, pizotifen, roluperidone, and XOB (ASR-6001). [1] [6] [7] More selective serotonin 5-HT2A receptor antagonists include 4-PhPr-PEA, AMDA, altanserin, butanserin, cinanserin, eplivanserin, fananserin, glemanserin, iferanserin, ketanserin, lidanserin, pelanserin, pimavanserin, pirenperone, pruvanserin, remlifanserin, ritanserin, seganserin, setoperone, and volinanserin. [1] [6] [7] Peripherally selective or acting serotonin 5-HT2A receptor antagonists are known as well and include BW-501C67, irindalone, naftidrofuryl, sarpogrelate, temanogrel, trelanserin, and xylamidine. [8]

Selective serotonin 5-HT2A receptor antagonists have been studied in the treatment of sleeping disorders such as insomnia, psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia, and for other indications. [7] [9] [10] Several selective serotonin 5-HT2A receptor antagonists reached and/or completed phase 3 clinical trials, including and eplivanserin, pimavanserin, pruvanserin, and volinanserin. [9] [10] [11] [12] However, all of them except pimavanserin were discontinued, with pimavanserin having been approved only for the treatment of Parkinson's disease psychosis. [9] [13] [14] Though not approved for insomnia, selective serotonin 5-HT2A receptor antagonists have been found to improve sleep and sleep quality, including increasing deep slow wave sleep (SWS) without affecting REM sleep. [7] [12] [6] [9] [15] [16]

Serotonin 5-HT2A receptor antagonists are useful as so-called "trip killers" or hallucinogen antidotes in aborting or shortening the effects of serotonergic psychedelics like psilocybin, LSD, and mescaline. [17] [18] [19] [20] Ketanserin, risperidone, chlorpromazine, and cyproheptadine have all been formally studied and found to be effective for such purposes. [17] [18] Ketanserin, pimavanserin, and eplivanserin/volinanserin are under formal development and/or study for this use as well. [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] In addition, recreational psychedelic users often use trip killers to abort psychedelic experiences, with frequent use of trazodone, quetiapine, olanzapine, and mirtazapine for these purposes having been documented. [29] [30]

See also

References

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  12. 1 2 Renger JJ (2008). "Overview of experimental and conventional pharmacological approaches in the treatment of sleep and wake disorders". Curr Top Med Chem. 8 (11): 937–953. doi:10.2174/156802608784936755. PMID   18673164.
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  18. 1 2 Halberstadt AL, Nichols DE (2020). "Serotonin and serotonin receptors in hallucinogen action". Handbook of the Behavioral Neurobiology of Serotonin. Handbook of Behavioral Neuroscience. Vol. 31. pp. 843–863. doi:10.1016/B978-0-444-64125-0.00043-8. ISBN   978-0-444-64125-0. ISSN   1569-7339. S2CID   241134396.
  19. Canal CE (2018). "Serotonergic Psychedelics: Experimental Approaches for Assessing Mechanisms of Action". New Psychoactive Substances. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology. Vol. 252. pp. 227–260. doi:10.1007/164_2018_107. ISBN   978-3-030-10560-0. PMC   6136989 . PMID   29532180.{{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
  20. Holze F, Singh N, Liechti ME, D'Souza DC (May 2024). "Serotonergic Psychedelics: A Comparative Review of Efficacy, Safety, Pharmacokinetics, and Binding Profile". Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. 9 (5): 472–489. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.01.007 . PMID   38301886.
  21. Hallifax, James (30 November 2022). "New MindMed Study Shortens Trip with "LSD-Neutralizer"". Microdose. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
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  24. Holze F, Vizeli P, Ley L, Müller F, Dolder P, Stocker M, Duthaler U, Varghese N, Eckert A, Borgwardt S, Liechti ME (February 2021). "Acute dose-dependent effects of lysergic acid diethylamide in a double-blind placebo-controlled study in healthy subjects". Neuropsychopharmacology. 46 (3): 537–544. doi:10.1038/s41386-020-00883-6. PMC   8027607 . PMID   33059356.
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  28. "Sam Clark: Founder and CEO of Terran Biosciences". Buzzsprout. 31 October 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
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  30. Suran M (February 2024). "Study Finds Hundreds of Reddit Posts on "Trip-Killers" for Psychedelic Drugs". JAMA. 331 (8): 632–634. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.28257. PMID   38294772.