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Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 1389-5575
ISSN (Online): 1875-5607

Multi-Faceted Aspects ofGamma-Hydroxybutyric Acid: A Neurotransmitter, Therapeutic Agent and Drug of Abuse

Author(s): M. Paola Castelli

Volume 8, Issue 12, 2008

Page: [1188 - 1202] Pages: 15

DOI: 10.2174/138955708786141025

Price: $65

Abstract

Gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), an endogenous constituent of the mammalian brain, acts as i) a neurotransmitter or neuromodulator, ii) a medicine used for the treatment of narcolepsy and alcoholism, and iii) a drug illicitly used for its psychotropic effects. GHB is thought to act as a specific GHB receptor agonist as well as a weak gammaaminobutyric acid type B (GABAB) receptor agonist. Here, I review the in vivo and in vitro pharmacological properties of GHB and its interaction with GHB and GABAB receptors. When exogenously administered, GHB is rapidly absorbed, crosses the blood-brain barrier, penetrates into the brain and exerts a number of pharmacological effects including anxiolysis, sedation/hypnosis and anesthesia. Due to its effects on the central nervous system, GHB has been used for the treatment of narcolepsy and as an anesthetic adjuvant. More recently, a role for GHB in the pharmacotherapy of alcohol dependence has been described. In this review, I also focus on the abuse liability and reinforcing properties of GHB in humans and laboratory animals.

Keywords: GHB, GHB receptor, GABAB receptor, NCS-382


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