Abuse Potential and Human Pharmacology of Methylone

This trial (n=17) aimed to assess the abuse potential, subjective and physiological effects, pharmacokinetic parameters, and metabolism of methylone (200mg), a synthetic cathinone popularized as an alternative to illegal psychostimulants such as MDMA (100mg) and mephedrone.

A pilot study was conducted to determine the appropriate methylone dose for the trial. The study involved the controlled administration of a single oral dose of methylone. Data on the human pharmacology of methylone is currently limited to user experiences reported in internet forums or intoxication reports.

Topic Healthy Subjects
Compound MDMA
Country Spain
Visit trial
Status Completed
Results Published Yes
Start date 01 December 2021
End date 30 September 2022
Chance of happening 100%
Phase Phase I
Design Open
Type Interventional
Generation First
Participants 17
Sex All
Age 18- 45
Therapy No

Trial Details

Methylone is a synthetic cathinone that has been popularized as an alternative to other illegal psychostimulants as methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) or mephedrone. Chemically, methylone is a beta-keto analogue of ecstasy with similar pharmacological effects in animals. To date, the available data about the human pharmacology of methylone in humans is very scarce and is mainly provided by users' experience published in internet forums or intoxication reports. A pilot study was carried out to select the methylone dose used in this study. This current study is aimed 1) To assess the abuse potential of methylone after controlled administration of a single oral dose of methylone 2) to evaluate subjective and physiological effects of methylone 3) to determine the pharmacokinetics parameters and metabolism of methylone.

NCT Number NCT05488171

Sponsors & Collaborators

Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital
The Institute for Health Science Research Germans Trias i Pujol (IGTP) is a leading biomedical research centre in Badalona, Barcalona, Spain.

Papers

Pharmacological effects of methylone and MDMA in humans
This double-blind study (n=17) compared the pharmacological effects of methylone (200mg) and MDMA (100mg), for which methylone is a popular substitute. The results showed that methylone could significantly increase blood pressure and heart rate and induce pleasurable effects similar to MDMA, including stimulation, euphoria, well-being, enhanced empathy, and altered perception.

Data attribution

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