Posted on 08/31/2023 1:02:27 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Cocaine use continues to be a public health problem, yet despite concerted efforts, no drugs have been approved to resolve cocaine addiction. Research suggests that the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder drug methylphenidate (MPH; Ritalin) could serve as a cocaine-replacement therapy, but clinical results have been mixed. Although several labs have produced MPH derivatives for testing, parts of the molecule remained chemically inaccessible. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have cleared that hurdle.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 5 million Americans reported actively using cocaine in 2020, and almost 25,000 Americans died of a cocaine-related overdose in 2021. Although small-molecule drugs have proven effective in treating other drug addictions — for example, methadone as a therapy for heroin abuse — no such medication exists for cocaine abuse. MPH has been considered a potential treatment because it behaves similarly to the illicit drug, increasing dopamine levels in the brain by blocking dopamine reuptake.
Additionally, clinical studies have shown that MPH has a lower risk of abuse than cocaine. Although studies in animals have shown that MPH can reduce cocaine dependence, studies in humans have offered more mixed results. Thus, researchers are developing libraries of MPH derivatives, searching for molecules with improved clinical efficacy.
Until recently, however, it was difficult to create derivatives of one chemical component of MPH: its piperidine ring. W. Dean Harman and colleagues wanted to address this shortcoming by taking an organometallic approach.
Using a tungsten-based reagent, the researchers synthesized a library of MPH analogues specifically modified at the piperidine ring with a variety of chemical groups. And whereas MPH is a mixture of four isomers — otherwise identical molecules with small structural differences — the new method allowed the researchers to synthesize and purify compounds that were predominantly comprised of a single isomer. This could be important in clinical studies, as different isomers of some drugs can have significant impacts on therapeutic efficacy or safety.
Whether any of these MPH analogues prove effective against cocaine addiction remains to be determined, but the researchers noted that the new protocol could be widely applicable to pharmaceutical development, given the ubiquity of the piperidine ring in small-molecule drugs.
What a waste of time, Cocaine Addictions usually lead to bankruptcy and poverty, then the addiction goes away
Whenever I have a cocaine problem, I find that treating myself with meth will clear it right up.
Paging hunter, Paging drug face hunter, please pick up the black courtesy phone (not the white phone because you’ll try to snort it)
Poor widdle Hunter is just trying to self medicate his ADD. Without all the crack he gets distracted by butterflies and shiny objects during his bribe collection.
If you got bad news, you want to kick them blues, cocaine
It gives you suicidal or homicidal thoughts. How they going to cover either up?
humper would just mix them...
NO, my brother was prescribed Ritalin for a brain injury, as the years went on the dosage was adjusted upwards. He had to go to rehab, and came out a better man, with no more ritalin dependency.
Bad bad stuff.
I never heard f Ritalin for brain injury.
Then there should be a big scoop of drain-o added.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.