Historique
Article de Périodique
Novel opioids: Systematic web crawling within the e-psychonauts' scenario (2020)
Auteur(s) :
ARILLOTTA, D. ;
SCHIFANO, F. ;
NAPOLETANO, F. ;
ZANGANI, C. ;
GILGAR, L. ;
GUIRGUIS, A. ;
CORKERY, J. M. ;
AGUGLIA, E. ;
VENTO, A.
Année
2020
Page(s) :
art. 149
Langue(s) :
Anglais
Domaine :
Autres substances / Other substances ; Drogues illicites / Illicit drugs
Discipline :
PRO (Produits, mode d'action, méthode de dépistage / Substances, action mode, screening methods)
Thésaurus géographique
INTERNATIONAL
Thésaurus mots-clés
FORUM DE DISCUSSION
;
INTERNET
;
OPIOIDES
;
DROGUES DE SYNTHESE
;
FENTANYL
;
MEDICAMENTS
Résumé :
Background: A wide range of novel psychoactive substances (NPSs) are regularly searched and discussed online by e-psychonauts. Among NPSs, the range of prescription/non-prescription opioids (fentanyl and non-fentanyl analogs) and herbal derivatives currently represents a challenge for governments and clinicians.
Methods: Using a web crawler (i.e., NPS.Finder®), the present study aimed at assessing psychonaut fora/platforms to better understand the online situation regarding opioids.
Results: The open-web crawling/navigating software identified some 426 opioids, including 234 fentanyl analogs. Of these, 176 substances (162 were very potent fentanyls, including two ohmefentanyl and seven carfentanyl analogs) were not listed in either international or European NPS databases.
Conclusion: A web crawling approach helped in identifying a large number, indeed higher than that listed by European/international agencies, of unknown opioids likely to possess a significant misuse potential. Most of these novel/emerging substances are still relatively unknown. This is a reason of concern; each of these analogs potentially presents with different toxicodynamic profiles, and there is a lack of docking, preclinical, and clinical observations. Strengthening multidisciplinary collaboration between clinicians and bioinformatics may prove useful in better assessing public health risks associated with opioids.
Methods: Using a web crawler (i.e., NPS.Finder®), the present study aimed at assessing psychonaut fora/platforms to better understand the online situation regarding opioids.
Results: The open-web crawling/navigating software identified some 426 opioids, including 234 fentanyl analogs. Of these, 176 substances (162 were very potent fentanyls, including two ohmefentanyl and seven carfentanyl analogs) were not listed in either international or European NPS databases.
Conclusion: A web crawling approach helped in identifying a large number, indeed higher than that listed by European/international agencies, of unknown opioids likely to possess a significant misuse potential. Most of these novel/emerging substances are still relatively unknown. This is a reason of concern; each of these analogs potentially presents with different toxicodynamic profiles, and there is a lack of docking, preclinical, and clinical observations. Strengthening multidisciplinary collaboration between clinicians and bioinformatics may prove useful in better assessing public health risks associated with opioids.
Affiliation :
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Psychiatry Unit, University of Catania, Catania, Italy