Abstract
Repeated intake of methamphetamine (METH) leads to drug addiction, the inability to control intake, and strong drug cravings. It is also likely to cause psychiatric impairments, such as cognitive impairment, depression, and anxiety. Because the specific neurobiological mechanisms involved are complex and have not been fully and systematically elucidated, there is no established pharmacotherapy for METH abuse. Studies have found that a variety of Chinese herbal medicines have significant therapeutic effects on neuropsychiatric symptoms and have the advantage of multitarget comprehensive treatment. We conducted a systematic review, from neurobiological mechanisms to candidate Chinese herbal medicines, hoping to provide new perspectives and ideas for the prevention and treatment of METH abuse.
Highlights
Psychostimulants, including methamphetamine (METH) and other amphetamines (AMPHs), are inferior to marijuana and have become the most diffusely used class of drugs globally (United Nations, 2020)
At the beginning of this manuscript, we reviewed the neurobiological mechanisms of METH addiction, including cognitive dysfunction, anxiety, depression, oxidative stress, and inflammation
Studies have found that a variety of Chinese herbal medicines have significant therapeutic effects on psychiatric symptoms, such as addiction, depression, and cognitive impairment, induced by METH abuse and have the advantage of multitarget comprehensive treatment
Summary
Psychostimulants, including methamphetamine (METH) and other amphetamines (AMPHs), are inferior to marijuana and have become the most diffusely used class of drugs globally (United Nations, 2020). METH can cross the blood-brain barrier and act on the central nervous system. It mainly alters neurotransmission by interfering with dopamine (DA), DA transporters (DAT), and increasing the DA concentration in the brain (Brensilver et al, 2013). Related epidemiological and clinical studies have suggested that people abusing METH have a significantly increased risk of schizophrenia (Callaghan et al, 2012) and are more prone to cognitive impairment (Wagner et al, 2013; Potvin et al, 2018; Mizoguchi and Yamada, 2019), depression (Marshall and Werb, 2010), anxiety (McKetin et al, 2016), and suicide attempts (Glasner-Edwards et al, 2008)
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