An observational study on the sub-acute effects of mephedrone on mood, cognition, sleep and physical problems in regular mephedrone users

• Published in: Psychopharmacology Vol. 235; no. 9; pp. 2609 - 2618
• Main Authors: Homman, Lina, Seglert, Jessica, Morgan, Michael J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Norwegian
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.09.2018; Springer; Springer Nature B.V; Springer Verlag
• Subjects: Acute effects; Adult; Affect - drug effects; Affect - physiology; Alcoholic beverages; Amphetamines; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Cannabis; Cognition; Cognition - drug effects; Cognition - physiology; Demographics; Demography; Dosage and administration; Drug interactions; Drug Users - psychology; Ecstasy; Fatigue; Fatigue - chemically induced; Fatigue - diagnosis; Fatigue - psychology; Female; Females; Health aspects; Humans; Illicit Drugs - adverse effects; Impulsive behavior; Male; Males; MDMA; Mephedrone; Methamphetamine - administration & dosage; Methamphetamine - adverse effects; Methamphetamine - analogs & derivatives; Mood; Mood (Psychology); Mood Disorders - chemically induced; Mood Disorders - diagnosis; Mood Disorders - psychology; Neurosciences; Observational studies; Original Investigation; Patient outcomes; Pharmacology/Toxicology; Prospective Studies; Psychiatry; Psychological aspects; Psychopathology; Sleep; Sleep - drug effects; Sleep - physiology; Sleep disorders; Substance use; Substance-Related Disorders - psychology; Mephedrone; Mood; Sleep; Physical problems; Sub-acute effects; Cognition; Cathinone
• ISSN: 0033-3158; 1432-2072; 1432-2072
• DOI: 10.1007/s00213-018-4953-1

Rationale Mephedrone (4-methylmethcathinone; 4-MMC) is a novel recreational drug similar to methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and amphetamine. Several adverse effects have been reported, but little is known about its sub-acute effects. Objectives To study sub-acute effects of mephedrone over a period of 9 days. Methods Recreational mephedrone users were recruited and followed over a time period of 9 days. It was recorded whether participants consumed mephedrone or not within the period of testing; those who did were compared to those who did not. Forty-six regular mephedrone users (22 males, 24 females) participated, 21 participants voluntarily opted to consume mephedrone 1–3 days after baseline and 25 opted to abstain. Participants were assessed at baseline on a multitude of measures and provided daily reports on cognition, sleep, mood, physical problems, mephedrone cravings and substance use on each subsequent day of the study. The study controlled for psychopathology, sleep, past and current substance use, impulsivity and demographics. Results Those who consumed mephedrone reported persistent negative mood, physical problems and fatigue, compared to those who did not—after controlling for baseline group differences in sleep and subsequent alcohol and cannabis use. Conclusions The results provide the first prospective evidence of the duration and extent of specific undesirable sub-acute effects of mephedrone in regular recreational users and indicate sub-acute effects of mephedrone on mood, fatigue and physical symptoms.