Abuse and therapeutic potential of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid.
Gamma-hydroxbutyric acid is a compound found in mammalian brain that is structurally related to the neurotransmitters gamma-aminobutyric acid and glutamic acid. Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid effects dopaminergic systems in the brain and may be a neurotransmitter. Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid was first reported as a drug of abuse in 1990 and continues to be abused by bodybuilders, participants of "rave" dance parties, and polydrug abusers. Physical dependence can develop after prolonged, high-dose use, and overdoses have been widely reported. Its use in sexual assaults as a "date rape" drug and availability on the internet have recently emerged. Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid has established efficacy as an anesthetic agent, and preliminary evidence supports its utility in the treatment of alcohol dependence, opiate dependence, and narcolepsy.
Galloway
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Drug Detoxification, Rehabilitation, and Aftercare Program, Haight-Ashbury Free Clinics, 603 Clayton Street, 94117, San Francisco, CA 94117, USA. gantt@itsa.ucsf.edu
Frederick-Osborne
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Seymour
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Contini
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Smith
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D000437:Alcoholism / Q000188:drug therapy; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D006885:Hydroxybutyrates / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders
D006885:Hydroxybutyrates; C111420:4-hydroxybutyric acid