Amphetamines negative effects

In the short term, the only negative effects of taking amphetamines are insomnia, or inability to sleep, and loss of appetite. In the long run, however, the negative effects of the drugs become more apparent. Amphetamines are addictive, which means the user can become dependent on them. Over... 

Ritalin became popular primarily because it was not an amphetamine. Amphetamines were known to have the potential for abuse and addiction. The potential for abuse of and addiction to Ritalin was still unknown. Ritalin was also preferred because it had been shown in many studies to have a rapid positive effect on children s performance, it remained in the bloodstream for only a few hours, and it had no negative effect after the children stopped taking the drug. 

Toxic psychosis Several monoamine stimulants including cocaine are known to produce a temporary or even a lasting psychotic state after heavy use. Reviews of numerous clinical case reports have shown amphetamine to produce a chronic psychotic state, sometimes persisting for months after cessation. There appears to be a sensitization effect in this regard, because after recovery, psychotic states may recur with minimal use of amphetamine or alcohol. When compared to schizophrenic patients, people with amphetamine-induced psychosis demonstrate fewer negative symptoms (Boutros and Bowers 1996). 

Amphetamines and related psychostimulants, modafinil and caffeine (ingested as capsules or as caffeinated drinks), produce feelings of increased energy and activity. These effects are particularly pronounced if subjects are engaged in strenuous or monotonous activities of longer duration. According to some reports, there seems to be a minority of subjects who show negative responses to stimulants and may feel tired, listless and occasionally even depressed (Corr and Kumari, 2000). 

Five studies of amphetamine for depression were clearly negative, with none finding it more effective than placebo. Although there were occasional hints of efficacy, in one study amphetamine was even less effective than placebo. 

In non-sleep-deprived normals, modafinil tended to improve self-rated mood during the 8 hr after 200 mg of modafinil, and affectivity (as measured with a semantic differential polarity profile) was significantly better under 200 and 400 mg of modafinil at 6 and 8 hr postdose, respectively (213). Modafinil does not have the noticeable euphoric or stimulatory effect produced by amphetamine (231). This is consistent with the results of animal studies that indicate that modafinil s reinforcing effects are weak compared to those of amphetamine (232). In fatigued subjects, modafinil increases self-reported vigor and positive mood and decreases fatigue, confusion, and negative mood (226,228). 

Like amphetamine and cocaine, abuse of MPH [Ritalin] can lead to marked tolerance and severe psychologic dependence. The pattern of abuse is characterized by escalation in dose, binge use followed by severe depression, and an overpowering desire to continue to the use of the drug despite negative medical and social consequences. The abuser may alter the mode of administration from oral use to intranasal or intravenous use to intensify the effects of the drug. (p. 35)... 

The most effective amphetamine/methamphetamine prevention agent, however, proved to be the intravenous users themselves. These individuals tended to be walking, acting-out, negative advertisements of their drug. Anorexia left them skeletal, whereas stimulant psychosis turned them into violent victims of delusional paranoia, a danger to themselves and others. 

Careful selection of the derivatization technique may also be employed to enhance the detection limit of an analyte. The conversion of amphetamines to tetrafluorophthaloyl derivatives yields compounds possessing high electron capture cross-sections and the sensitivity toward such compounds, using negative ion chemical ionization (NICI) can be better than that achieved using positive ion formation by two orders of magnitude. Employing NICI in conjunction with SIM, the detection of amphetamine derivatives in quantities as small as 10 fg (SOamol) may be effected. 

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