Serotonin releasing agent

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A serotonin releasing agent (SRA) is a type of drug that induces the release of serotonin into the neuronal synaptic cleft. A selective serotonin releasing agent (SSRA) is an SRA with less significant or no efficacy in producing neurotransmitter efflux at other types of monoamine neurons. [1]

Contents

SSRAs have been used clinically as appetite suppressants, and they have also been proposed as novel antidepressants and anxiolytics with the potential for a faster onset of action and superior efficacy relative to the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). [2]

A closely related type of drug is a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI).

Examples and use of SRAs

Amphetamines like MDMA, MDEA, MDA, and MBDB, among other relatives (see MDxx), are recreational drugs termed entactogens. They act as serotonin-norepinephrine-dopamine releasing agents (SNDRAs) and also agonize serotonin receptors such as those in the 5-HT2 subfamily. Fenfluramine, chlorphentermine, and aminorex, which are also amphetamines and relatives, were formerly used as appetite suppressants but were discontinued due to concerns of cardiac valvulopathy. This side effect has been attributed to their additional action of potent agonism of the 5-HT2B receptor. The designer drug 4-methylaminorex, which is an SNDRA and 5-HT2B agonist, has been reported to cause this effect as well.

Many tryptamines, such as DMT, DET, DPT, DiPT, psilocin, and bufotenin, are SRAs as well as non-selective serotonin receptor agonists. [3] These drugs are serotonergic psychedelics, which is a consequence of their ability to activate the 5-HT2A receptor. αET and αMT, also tryptamines, are SNDRAs and non-selective serotonin receptor agonists that were originally thought to be monoamine oxidase inhibitors and were formerly used as antidepressants. [3] They have since been discontinued and are now encountered solely as recreational drugs.

Indeloxazine is an SRA and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor that was formerly used as an antidepressant, nootropic, and neuroprotective.

List of SSRAs

Pharmaceutical drugs

Research chemicals

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">5-APDI</span> Chemical compound

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serotonin receptor agonist</span> Neurotransmission-modulating substance

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">5-APDB</span> Chemical compound

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">MDAI</span> Chemical compound

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monoamine releasing agent</span> Class of compounds

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">MMAI</span> Chemical compound

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethyltrifluoromethylaminoindane</span> Chemical compound

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trifluoromethylaminoindane</span> Chemical compound

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">6-CAT</span> Chemical compound

6-Chloro-2-aminotetralin (6-CAT) is a drug which acts as a selective serotonin releasing agent (SSRA) and is a putative entactogen in humans. It is a rigid analogue of para-chloroamphetamine (PCA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2-Methyl-MDA</span> Chemical compound

2-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (2-methyl-MDA) is an entactogen and psychedelic drug of the amphetamine class. It acts as a selective serotonin releasing agent (SSRA), with IC50 values of 93nM, 12,000nM, and 1,937nM for serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine efflux. 2-Methyl-MDA is more potent than MDA and 5-methyl-MDA. However, it is slightly more selective for serotonin over dopamine and norepinephrine release in comparison to 5-methyl-MDA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">6-APT</span> Chemical compound

6-(2-Aminopropyl)tetralin (6-APT), also sometimes called tetralinylaminopropane (TAP), is a drug of the amphetamine class which acts as a selective serotonin releasing agent (SSRA). It has IC50 values of 121 nM, 6,436 nM, and 3,371 nM for inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, respectively. Though it possesses an appreciable in vitro profile, in animal drug discrimination studies it was not found to substitute for MMAI or amphetamine and to only partially substitute for MBDB. This parallels Alexander Shulgin's finding that EDMA (the 1,4-benzodioxine analogue of 6-APT) is inactive, and appears to indicate that the pharmacokinetics of both EDMA and 6-APT may not be favorable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4-Fluoro-5-methoxy-DMT</span> Chemical compound

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">3,4-Dichloroamphetamine</span> Chemical compound

3,4-Dichloroamphetamine (DCA), is an amphetamine derived drug invented by Eli Lilly in the 1960s, which has a number of pharmacological actions. It acts as a highly potent and selective serotonin releasing agent (SSRA) and binds to the serotonin transporter with high affinity, but also acts as a selective serotonergic neurotoxin in a similar manner to the related para-chloroamphetamine, though with slightly lower potency. It is also a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI), as well as a very potent inhibitor of the enzyme phenylethanolamine N-methyl transferase which normally functions to transform noradrenaline into adrenaline in the body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5-Chloro-αMT</span> Chemical compound

5-Chloro-α-methyltryptamine (5-Chloro-αMT), also known as PAL-542, is a tryptamine derivative related to α-methyltryptamine (αMT) and one of only a few known specific serotonin-dopamine releasing agents (SDRAs). It has been investigated in animals as a potential treatment for cocaine dependence. The EC50 values of 5-chloro-αMT in evoking the in vitro release of serotonin (5-HT), dopamine (DA), and norepinephrine (NE) in rat synaptosomes were reported as 16 nM, 54 nM, and 3434 nM, with an NE/DA ratio of 63.6 and a DA/5-HT ratio of 3.38, indicating that it is a highly specific and well-balanced SDRA. However, 5-chloro-αMT has also been found to act as a potent full agonist of the 5-HT2A receptor, with an EC50 value of 6.27 nM and an efficacy of 105%, and almost assuredly acts as a potent agonist of other serotonin receptors as well.

References

  1. Marona-Lewicka D, Nichols DE (June 1994). "Behavioral effects of the highly selective serotonin releasing agent 5-methoxy-6-methyl-2-aminoindan". European Journal of Pharmacology. 258 (1–2): 1–13. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.688.1895 . doi:10.1016/0014-2999(94)90051-5. PMID   7925587.
  2. Scorza C, Silveira R, Nichols DE, Reyes-Parada M (July 1999). "Effects of 5-HT-releasing agents on the extracellullar hippocampal 5-HT of rats. Implications for the development of novel antidepressants with a short onset of action". Neuropharmacology. 38 (7): 1055–61. doi:10.1016/S0028-3908(99)00023-4. PMID   10428424. S2CID   13714807.
  3. 1 2 Blough BE, Landavazo A, Decker AM, Partilla JS, Baumann MH, Rothman RB (October 2014). "Interaction of psychoactive tryptamines with biogenic amine transporters and serotonin receptor subtypes". Psychopharmacology. 231 (21): 4135–44. doi:10.1007/s00213-014-3557-7. PMC   4194234 . PMID   24800892.

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