The Continuing Challenge of Designer Drugs

Topics: Addiction | designer drugs | Novel drug | Substance Use

CATR: Please tell us about your background. Dr. Huestis: I’ve worn lots of hats over my career as a clinical chemist, toxicologist, and forensic toxicologist. I was at the National Institutes of Health for more than 23 years, where I had the pleasure of leading the Chemistry and Drug Metabolism Section, and for the last five years I’ve been running

MDMA-Assisted Therapy for Severe PTSD

Topics: Drug-assisted psychotherapy | MDMA | Novel drug | Psychedelics | PTSD

REVIEW OF: Mitchell JM et al, Nat Med 2021;27(6):1025–1033 STUDY TYPE: Randomized controlled trial MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, more commonly known as ecstasy or molly), is an amphetamine analog that also increases transmission of both serotonin and oxytocin. Prior to the FDA banning it from further research in 1985, MDMA had been develo

Lybalvi: The Diet Olanzapine

Topics: Antipsychotics | Metabolic syndrome | Metformin | News of Note | Novel drug | Obesity | olanzapine | Side Effects | Waist circumference | Weight gain | Weight Loss Medications

Lybalvi is a new combo pill that aims to overcome the dreaded metabolic effects of olanzapine by pairing it with the opioid antagonist samidorphan. Patients still gain weight on Lybalvi, though not as much as they do on olanzapine. In the three controlled trials that compared the two drugs, the weight gain on Lybalvi was 5 lb less at six months, 3 lb le

How to Use SAMe in Clinical Practice

Topics: Alternative treatments | Antidepressant Augmentation | Complimentary Medicine | Natural Medications | natural treatments | Novel drug | SAMe

S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) is an over-the-counter supplement that’s usually lumped with the complementary and alternative (CAM) therapies in psychiatry. However, it is one of a few CAM therapies with efficacy that rivals standard medications. SAMe raises levels of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, acting in some ways like the fabled triple reu

In the News: Aducanumab (Aduhelm)

Topics: Aducanumab | Aduhelm | Cognition | Cognitive Decline | Complementary treatments | Dementia | Neurology | News of Note | Novel drug

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is devastating. There is no cure and existing treatments don’t slow or stop its progression. In June 2021, the FDA approved aducanumab (pronounced a-due-KAN-you-mab, brand name Aduhelm) for the treatment of AD. It’s the first new AD med since 2003 and is the only treatment that directly attacks a component of AD’s purpor

In Brief: Meds in the Fast Lane

Topics: Aducanumab | Cognition | Dementia | FDA | Neurology | Novel drug

In the last five years, more psychotropics have gained approval through the FDA’s expedited pathways than the slow and cautious routes we’ve grown used to. These “fast-track” and “breakthrough therapy” approvals allow drugs to enter the market on the basis of more efficient (ie, smaller) clinical trials. Instead of the typical 2000 participa