The Toxicology of New Psychoactive Substances: Synthetic Cathinones and Phenylethylamines

摘要

Background: New psychoactive substances (NPSs) are substitutes for classical drugs of abuse and there are now compounds available from all groups of classical drugs of abuse. During 2014, the number of synthetic cathinones increased dramatically and, together with phenylethylamines, they dominate the NPS markets in the European Union. In total, 31 cathinones and 9 phenylethylamines were encountered in 2014. The aim of this article was to summarize the existing knowledge about the basic pharmacology, metabolism, and human toxicology of relevant synthetic cathinones and phenylethylamines. Compared with existing reviews, we have also compiled the existing case reports from both fatal and nonfatal intoxications.