Lephetamine abuse and dependence: clinical effects and withdrawal syndrome.

Lephetamine (L-SPA) is a compound with central analgesic and anti-inflammatory action, recently reported to be abused in Italy. In this study, cases of L-SPA abuse were recorded. The survey included 15 patients who were assessed for effects caused by using L-SPA and induced by withdrawal.

L-acetylcarnitine in depressed elderly subjects. A cross-over study vs placebo.

An open, cross-over study was performed on a population of 24 geriatric patients hospitalized because of depressive syndrome. They were subdivided, according to Hamilton's Scale as modified for the aged, into low- and high-score subgroups. The study period covered 2 months.

Slow-release lithium in treatment of schizoaffective syndromes.

Schizoaffective disorders are a blurred category of psychiatric pathology in which lithium seems to exert therapeutic effects. The present study was made on patients suffering from affective syndromes with positive schizophrenic symptoms ranging from none to severe. They were hospitalized because of an acute episode, treated with a slow-release lithium preparation (Hypnorex) following the attack therapy and followed up for a mean period of two years.

Stereospecific effects of acetylcarnitine on the spontaneous activity of brainstem neurones and their responses to acetylcholine and serotonin.

Acetylcarnitine is an endogenous substance, active in the CNS, but its exact role in neurotransmission is still unknown. The present study was made to analyze by means of iontophoretic administration on single neurones of the medullary-pontine reticular formation in the rat the effects of the D- and L-acetylcarnitine on spontaneous and glutamate-evoked firing and on responses to applications of some other putative transmitters, such as acetylcholine, 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and noradrenaline. L-Acetylcarnitine increased both spontaneous and evoked discharges, and potentiated cholinergic and serotonergic responses.