ReviewBrain sciences2018
Abuse of Prescription Drugs in the Context of Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS): A Systematic Review.
Review in Brain sciences, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 43 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
43 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 87 citations in OpenAlex.
- Analgesic Efficacy of Low-Level Laser Therapy for Postoperative Endodontic Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Australian endodontic journal : the journal of the Australian Society of Endodontology Inc · 2026Pooled it
- Exploring the Confluence of Animal Medicine and its Implications for Human Health: A Systematic Literature Review.Current neuropharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Methylphenidate abuse and misuse in patients affected with a psychiatric disorder and a substance use disorder: a systematic review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Clenbuterol induces lean mass and muscle protein accretion, but attenuates cardiorespiratory fitness and desensitizes muscle βThe Journal of physiology · 2025Trial
- From molecular mechanisms to digital surveillance: the 2010-2025 evolution of benzodiazepine and Z-drug misuse research.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026Review
- Questions on Medicines, Alcohol, and Illicit Drug Interactions in the Finnish AddictionLink Online Service: A Descriptive Analysis.Nordisk alkohol- & narkotikatidskrift : NAT · 2026Article
- Transdiagnostic and symptom-domain associations between mental illnesses and future self-connectedness versus future self-valence.JCPP advances · 2026Article
- Knowledge, attitudes, and perception toward new psychoactive substances among Saudi university students: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Analysing lithium, quetiapine and valproic acid on social media: an infodemiology study.International journal of bipolar disorders · 2025Article
- Effect of codeine administration on histopathology of brain and liver, in adult albino rats.BMC research notes · 2025Article
- Expecting medication misuse: a proactive approach to drug discovery to prevent fatal overdose.Future medicinal chemistry · 2025Review
- Epidemiology of New Psychoactive Substances in Relation to Traditional Drugs of Abuse in Clinical Oral Fluid Samples.Basic & clinical pharmacology & toxicology · 2025Article
- Nitrous oxide use and psychiatric disorders: a retrospective clinical cohort study on prevalence and patterns.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- A case report of pregabalin misuse leading to drug dependence.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Evaluating drug withdrawal syndrome risks through food and drug administration adverse event reporting system: a comprehensive disproportionality analysis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Article
- Use and misuse of psychoactive medicines: a descriptive cross-sectional study in a densely populated region of Portugal.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2024Article
- Case report: Additional grounds for tighter regulation? A case series of five women with zolpidem dependence from a Brazilian women-specific substance use disorder outpatient service.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- A Review of Drug Abuse, Misuse, and Related Laboratory Challenges.Current drug safety · 2024Review
- An Update on Psychoactive Substances: Pharmacology and Toxicology Issues.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Quetiapine and olanzapine misuse prevalence in a US general population sample.The mental health clinician · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Recently, a range of prescription and over-the-counter drugs have been reportedly used as Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS), due to their potential for abuse resulting from their high dosage/idiosyncratic methods of self-administration. This paper provides a systematic review of the topic, focusing on a range of medications which have emerged as being used recreationally, either on their own or in combination with NPS. Among gabapentinoids, pregabalin may present with higher addictive liability levels than gabapentin, with pregabalin being mostly identified in the context of opioid, polydrug intake. For antidepressants, their dopaminergic, stimulant-like, bupropion activities may explain their recreational value and diversion from the therapeutic intended use. In some vulnerable clients, a high dosage of venlafaxine (‘baby ecstasy’) is ingested for recreational purposes, whilst the occurrence of a clinically-relevant withdrawal syndrome may be a significant issue for all venlafaxine-treated patients. Considering second generation antipsychotics, olanzapine appears to be ingested at very large dosages as an ‘ideal trip terminator’, whilst the immediate-release quetiapine formulation may possess proper abuse liability levels. Within the image- and performance- enhancing drugs (IPEDs) group, the beta-2 agonist clenbuterol (‘size zero pill’) is reported to be self-administered for aggressive slimming purposes. Finally, high/very high dosage ingestion of the antidiarrhoeal loperamide has shown recent increasing levels of popularity due to its central recreational, anti-withdrawal, opiatergic effects. The emerging abuse of prescription drugs within the context of a rapidly modifying drug scenario represents a challenge for psychiatry, public health and drug-control policies.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.