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Review
. 2022 Dec 12;23(24):15777.
doi: 10.3390/ijms232415777.

Key Characteristics and Development of Psychoceuticals: A Review

Genaro Herrera Cano  1 , Jordan Dean  1 , Samuel Padilla Abreu  1 , Amanda Hernández Rodríguez  1 , Cyrena Abbasi  1 , Madison Hinson  2 , Brandon Lucke-Wold  3
Affiliations
Review

Key Characteristics and Development of Psychoceuticals: A Review

Genaro Herrera Cano et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Psychoceuticals have brought benefits to the pharmacotherapeutic management of central nervous system (CNS) illnesses since the 19th century. However, these drugs have potential side effects or lack high response rates. This review covers twenty drugs' biochemical mechanisms, benefits, risks, and clinical trial reports. For this study, medications from seven psychoceutical organizations were reviewed and evaluated. Nineteen drugs were chosen from the organizations, and one was selected from the literature. The databases used for the search were Pubmed, Google Scholar, and NIH clinical trials. In addition, information from the organizations' websites and other sources, such as news reports, were also used. From the list of drugs, the most common targets were serotonergic, opioid, and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. These drugs have shown promise in psychiatric illnesses such as substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, and neurological conditions, such as Parkinson's disease, traumatic brain injury, and neuroinflammation. Some of these drugs, however, are still early in development, so their therapeutic significance cannot be determined. These twenty drugs have promising benefits, but their clinical usage and efficacy must still be explored.

Keywords: emerging treatment; improved outcomes; neurointervention; pharmacotherapy; psychoceutical.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow Search Diagram.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Psychoceuticals selected and their sources.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.