Clinical Implications of Kratom () Use: a Literature Review.

Purpose Of Review: This work aims to provide an up-to-date review of the preclinical and clinical scientific literature on the therapeutic value of kratom to better understand the underlying mechanisms related to its use and inform future therapeutic applications.

Recent Findings: A growing number of studies, mainly of cross-sectional nature, describe the widespread use of kratom by individuals to self-treat pain, psychiatric symptoms, and substance use disorders (SUD) outside a controlled clinical setting. Preclinical evidence suggests kratom is effective as an analgesic agent and might decrease the self-administration of other drugs.

A Comparison of Acute Neurocognitive and Psychotomimetic Effects of a Synthetic Cannabinoid and Natural Cannabis at Psychotropic Dose Equivalence.

Due to differences in potency, efficacy, and affinity for CB1 receptors, similarities and differences in psychoactive effect profiles of natural cannabis and synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) cannot reliably be derived from equipotent dose comparisons. Instead, the current study proposes to compare the intrinsic psychoactive effects of natural cannabis (THC) and an SC, JWH-018, at psychotropic dose equivalence. Participants from two placebo-controlled studies were matched for their levels of subjective high to compare neurocognitive and psychotomimetic effects of THC and JWH-018.

A systematic review of (pre)clinical studies on the therapeutic potential and safety profile of kratom in humans.

Introduction: Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) is a tropical plant traditionally used as an ethnomedicinal remedy for several conditions in South East Asia. Despite the increased interest in its therapeutical benefits in Western countries, little scientific evidence is available to support such claims, and existing data remain limited to kratom's chronic consumption.

Objective: Our study aims to investigate (pre)clinical evidence on the efficacy of kratom as a therapeutic aid and its safety profile in humans.

A case-control study estimating accident risk for alcohol, medicines and illegal drugs.

Background: The aim of the present study was to assess the risk of having a traffic accident after using alcohol, single drugs, or a combination, and to determine the concentrations at which this risk is significantly increased.

Methods: A population-based case-control study was carried out, collecting whole blood samples of both cases and controls, in which a number of drugs were detected. The risk of having an accident when under the influence of drugs was estimated using logistic regression adjusting for gender, age and time period of accident (cases)/sampling (controls).