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Synthetic Cathinones

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TOXICOLOGY Similar to pharmacological data, toxicological data on synthetic cathinones is limited. Toxicological analyses are done to better understand the nature and effects of these drugs in the body. Along with determination of adverse and favorable symptoms in the body, toxicology deals with the detection methodology of these substances in biological matrices. These matrices are most commonly blood or urine, though some studies have utilized hair in the detection of synthetic cathinones. It was found that chewing naturally occurring khat leaves does not lead to many toxicity repercussions, due to such a low concentration of the active psychostimulant being present (9). But with synthetic cathinones, high concentrations of the active …show more content…

Another complication is often times these products are mislabeled and many users do not know entirely what was in the synthetic cathinone they purchased. Drug users that were involved in the Swedish STRIDA project recurrently reported taking synthetic cathinones to increase energy, responsiveness, or libido (8). These same users reported that these synthetics come with a range of adverse effects. These adverse effects include increased perspiration, palpitations, nausea and vomiting, or short-term memory difficulty (8). Observed symptoms also include hyperactivity, slurred speech, glazed eyed, and the ability to complete field impairment tests. It was found that MDPV is found in 5.7% of all driving under the influence of drug (DUID) cases in Finland (7). A limited treatment guide is available citing the use of benzodiazepines after synthetic cathinone exposure. The benzodiazepines are used as a sedation treatment, used to soothe agitated patients or those suffering from seizures (6). Most medical data shows these symptoms tend to go away after a few hours after treatment administration …show more content…

One major problem is detecting cathinones without other drugs resulting in false positive results. False-positive results are caused because there is no standard testing to determine the positive result of synthetic cathinones due to the variety of derivatives available on the market. Randox Toxicology has recently marketed two ELISA kits to be used specially for the detection of synthetic cathinones, with the claim that there are no false-positive results with MDMA, amphetamine, or pseudoephedrine. Not many labs have tested these kits so it is still unsure if the claims by Randox are correct (7). Another major problem that toxicologists often experience is specimen stability issues. Biological samples often cannot be analyzed right away for various reason including, laboratory work overload, instrumentation availability or shipment delay. New psychoactive stimulants across the board have shown limited stability. MDPV was found to be stable in blood at four degrees Celsius and at room temperature for fourteen days, while mephedrone was not detected after seven days at room temperature and had a thirty percent specimen loss after fourteen days at four degrees (25). In urine, mephedrone concentrations decreased by sixty percent over fourteen days at room temperature while MDPV remained stable for the same amount of time (25). Al-Saffar et al. found that cathinones in urine are stable for

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