Home > Nitrous oxide abuse: clinical outcomes, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, toxicity and impact on metabolism.

Gernez, Emeline and Lee, Graham Robert and Niguet, Jean-Paul and Zerimech, Farid and Bennis, Anas and Grzych, Guillaume (2023) Nitrous oxide abuse: clinical outcomes, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, toxicity and impact on metabolism. Toxics, 11, (12), 962. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11120962.

External website: https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/11/12/962

The recreational use of nitrous oxide (NO), also called laughing gas, has increased significantly in recent years. In 2022, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) recognized it as one of the most prevalent psychoactive substances used in Europe. Chronic nitrous oxide (NO) exposure can lead to various clinical manifestations. The most frequent symptoms are neurological (sensitive or motor disorders), but there are also other manifestations like psychiatric manifestations or cardiovascular disorders (thrombosis events). NO also affects various neurotransmitter systems, leading to its anesthetic, analgesic, anxiolytic and antidepressant properties. NO is very challenging to measure in biological matrices. Thus, in cases of NO intoxication, indirect biomarkers such as vitamin B12, plasma homocysteine and plasma MMA should be explored for diagnosis and assessment. Others markers, like oxidative stress markers, could be promising but need to be further investigated.


Item Type
Article
Publication Type
International, Open Access, Article
Drug Type
Inhalents and solvents
Intervention Type
Harm reduction
Date
28 November 2023
Identification #
https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11120962
Volume
11
Number
12
EndNote

Repository Staff Only: item control page