ReviewFrontiers in psychiatry2022
Toxicological Characterization of GHB as a Performance-Enhancing Drug.
Review in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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
6 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- 'A fine line between euphoria and death': a qualitative study exploring gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) use among people who identify as heterosexual living in Australia.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- Synthetic Drug Use and Limitations of Hospital Drug Screening: A Case of Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate Toxicity.Cureus · 2025Article
- Abusive use of anabolic androgenic steroids, male sexual dysfunction and infertility: an updated review.Frontiers in toxicology · 2024Review
- Case report: Fatal long-term intoxication by 2,4-dinitrophenol and anabolic steroids in a young bodybuilder with muscle dysmorphia.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Fatal overdose from injection of human growth hormone; a case report and review of the literature.BMC endocrine disorders · 2022Review
- Treatment of Poorly Responsive Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate Withdrawal With Baclofen: A Case Report.Cureus · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) are represented by several compounds used to ameliorate the image, the appearance, or an athletic or non-athletic performance. Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) is an endogenous molecule first used as anesthetic and then marketed as a nutritional supplement with a wide diffusion in the bodybuilding community. The aim of the present work is to provide a toxicological characterization of the use of GHB as a PED, including the scientific basis for its use, the patterns of use/abuse, and the health risks arising from its consumption in this peculiar recreative setting. A literature search was performed on multiple databases including experimental studies on humans and animals as well as epidemiological reports and forensic case reports/series. Experimental studies demonstrated that the use of GHB as a PED is motivated by the release of growth hormone and the induction of sleep. However, the panel of desired performance-related effects was much wider in real cases and epidemiological studies. Even though the use of GHB among bodybuilders has decreased, its use to enhance some kind of performance, particularly sexual ones or social-communicative ones, as well as means to increase mood and perceived energy, is still common.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.