Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid: an emerging recreational drug
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 23, 2026

Autoradiography as a Simple and Powerful Method for Visualization and Characterization of Pharmacological Targets
Published on: March 12, 2019
1Department of Anaesthesia, University of Sydney, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
Abstract:
Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) is no longer used as an anaesthetic induction agent because of the high incidence of myoclonic seizures and vomiting. However, it is used occasionally in Europe for the treatment of narcolepsy, alcohol dependence and opiate dependence. Since the early 1990s, GHB has become a drug of abuse in youths for its euphoric, sedative and anabolic effects. Common adverse effects include a rapid onset of drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, myoclonic seizures and coma of short duration. Clinicians should be alert for these adverse effects and consider the possibility of GHB abuse in young adults with unusual clinical presentations in the emergency department.
Related Concept Videos
Drug Abuse and Addiction: Pharmacological Phenomena
CNS Stimulants: Psychedelic Agents
Drugs Acting on Autonomic Ganglia: Stimulants
Ganglionic stimulants activate NM nicotinic receptors in autonomic ganglia, falling into two categories: nicotine mimetics [e.g., lobeline, dimethylpiperazine, tetramethylammonium] and muscarinic receptor agonists [e.g., muscarine, methacholine]. The first category's action is rapid and blocked by nicotinic receptor antagonists, while the second category's action is delayed and blocked by atropine-like agents. Nicotine, an alkaloid, affects the heart rate by stimulating sympathetic or...
Sedatives and Hypnotics Drugs: Barbiturates
CNS Stimulants: Cocaine, Amphetamines and Cannabinoids
Antiepileptic Drugs: Potassium Channel Activators
Ezogabine has gained approval as an adjunctive treatment...

