Antibiotic Drugs Codexery

Levomethamphetamine

Optical isomer of methamphetamine used as a nasal decongestant.

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The drug acts as a selective norepinephrine releasing agent and is about 15- to 20-fold less potent in inducing dopamine release relative to norepinephrine release.[1][2] For treating nasal congestion resulting from allergies and the common cold, levomethamphetamine, an optical isomer of methamphetamine, is applied topically as a decongestant.[3]

Key facts and history

Germany saw the first medical introduction of methamphetamine in 1938, when it was marketed orally as Pervitin.[4] Enantiopure levomethamphetamine, first sold in 1958 as the Vicks Inhaler and originally labeled "l-desoxyephedrine", was the first over-the-counter nasal decongestant inhaler of its kind.[4] A labeling change mandated by the United States FDA in 1998 replaced the chemical name "l-desoxyephedrine" with "levmetamfetamine".[4] An inhaler form of levomethamphetamine holds a total of 50 mg, with each inhalation delivering between 0.04 and 0.15 mg.[5]

Earlier marketed inhalers contained 113 mg of levomethamphetamine, but this total was later decreased to 50 mg.[5] The final monograph adopted in 1994 represents the most recent FDA regulatory change for levomethamphetamine inhalers.[6]

What the cited sources add

A 2010 article in U.S. Pharmacist confirmed that levomethamphetamine caused a small but significant increase in systolic blood pressure, with greater effects when patients took immediate-release products or higher doses.[7] The same article noted that unproven pseudomedicines such as herbs, homeopathics, and dietary supplements should never be used in preference to legitimate medications.[7]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Levomethamphetamine" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Amphetamine-type central nervous system stimulants release norepinephrine more potently than they release dopamine and serotonin", Synapse, January 2001, p. 32–41; "Monoamine transporters and psychostimulant drugs", Eur J Pharmacol, October 2003, p. 23–40; "Cocaine-like discriminative stimulus effects of "norepinephrine-preferring" monoamine releasers: time course and interaction studies in rhesus monkeys", Psychopharmacology (Berl), December 2017, p. 3455–3465; "Human pharmacology of the methamphetamine stereoisomers", Clin Pharma en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Levomethamphetamine" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Monoamine transporters and psychostimulant drugs", Eur J Pharmacol, October 2003, p. 23–40; "Cocaine-like discriminative stimulus effects of "norepinephrine-preferring" monoamine releasers: time course and interaction studies in rhesus monkeys", Psychopharmacology (Berl), December 2017, p. 3455–3465; "Human pharmacology of the methamphetamine stereoisomers", Clin Pharmacol Ther, October 2006, p. 403–420; "Amphetamine-type central nervous system stimulants release norepinephrine more potently than they release dopamine and serotonin en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Levomethamphetamine" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Pharmacology of R-(-)-Methamphetamine in Humans: A Systematic Review of the Literature", ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci, July 2023, p. 914–924; "Cold, Cough, Allergy, Bronchodilator, and Antiasthmatic Drug Products for Over-the-Counter Human Use", FDA, June 7, 2023; "The international scheduling of OTC inhaler ingredients: an abuse perspective", J Psychoactive Drugs, 1986, p. 151–4 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Levomethamphetamine" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Methamphetamine: history, pathophysiology, adverse health effects, current trends, and hazards associated with the clandestine manufacture of methamphetamine", Disease-a-Month, February 2012, p. 38–89; "Stimulant abuse: pharmacology, cocaine, methamphetamine, treatment, attempts at pharmacotherapy", Prim Care, March 2011, p. 41–58; "Methamphetamine: history, pathophysiology, adverse health effects, current trends, and hazards associated with the clandestine manufacture of methamphetamine", Disease-a-Month, February 2012, p. 38–89; en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Levomethamphetamine" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Pharmacology of R-(-)-Methamphetamine in Humans: A Systematic Review of the Literature", ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci, July 2023, p. 914–924; "Pharmacology of R-(-)-Methamphetamine in Humans: A Systematic Review of the Literature", ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci, July 2023, p. 914–924 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Levomethamphetamine" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Research, "Rulemaking History for OTC Nasal Decongestant Drug Products", FDA, 2022-02-28 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. "Nonprescription Products to Avoid With Hypertension", uspharmacist.com, 19 February 2010. facts only, no text reused. uspharmacist.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Levomethamphetamine (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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