Methaqualone

Abstract Methaqualone, until its withdrawal from the U.S. market in the 1980s, was promoted as a sedative-hypnotic. It also possesses anticonvulsant, antispasmodic, local anesthetic, antitussive, and antihistamine actions. During the 1970s, it became a popular recreational drug among young people in the United States, West Germany, Japan, and Britain (6). (A British commercial preparation also contained antihistamine.) Users of methaqualone (“Canadian blues,” “quacks,” “sopars,” “qualudes,” “ludes”) often take the drug orally with wine or soft drinks in “juice bars” (“luding out”) (7,10). Some report that it causes a “high” resembling that of heroin and without barbiturate-like sedation; others use the drug as a “downer” following cocaine intoxication. In the 1980s, production and distribution of methaqualone became illegal in the United States; abuse declined, but il legally produced or imported methaqualone remains available (12). Abusers take daily oral doses of 75 mg to 2 g. “Counterfeit” methaqualone pills sold on the street contain unpredictable quantities of other drugs, including barbiturates, benzodiazepines, and phencyclidine. Oral methaqualone is rapidly absorbed from the gastro intestinal tract (2). Nearly all is metabolized in the liver to 4’-hydroxymethaqualone and its N-oxide; the role of these metabolites in some of methaqualone’s toxic effects is un certain. The elimination half-life of methaqualone is 10-40 h. It induces hepatic P-450 and uridine diphosphate (UDP) glucuronyl-transferase activity. Methaqualone-induced sedation, which has an unclear mechanism but is comparable to that induced by short acting barbiturates, is preceded by dizziness and paresthe sias, and there may be anxiety, excessive dreaming, and somnambulism (8). “Hangover” is common. Taken with ethanol, methaqualone can cause marked synergistic CNS depression. Overdose, however, can cause excitement rather than sedation, progressing to delirium, hallucinations, py ramidal signs, myoclonus, seizures, coma, and death (14,15). Methaqualone is less likely than barbiturates to cause respiratory depression or shock. There may be ele vated prothrombin time and bleeding (9). A man with sei zures and coma after taking methaqualone with diphen hydramine had methaqualone blood levels much lower than expected, suggesting synergism with the antihistamine (3). In another report, methaqualone caused muscular hyper activity requiring treatment with curare (1).

Récupéré en direct depuis OpenAlex et désinversé. Les résumés ne sont pas conservés dans cette base de données : les index inversés représentent 8,6 Go des 9,3 Go de texte de la base, et le serveur dispose de 13 Go libres.