Cooling down the bath salts: Carvedilol attenuation of methylone and mephedrone mediated hyperthermia

The use of the synthetic cathinones ("bath salts"), methylone and mephedrone, has been associated with the development of life-threatening hyperthermia. To date, no direct pharmacological intervention to mitigate the hyperthermia induced by synthetic cathinones has been identified. Here, we investigated the effects of the non-selective α₁ and β adrenergic receptor antagonist carvedilol (5mg/kg ip) on established hyperthermia mediated by methylone and mephedrone (30mg/kg sc) in Sprague-Dawley rats. Methylone and mephedrone induced a hyperthermic response that peaked 60min post treatment. The administration of carvedilol 30min after methylone or mephedrone significantly attenuated these hyperthermic responses. Analysis of the Temperature Area Under the Curve (TAUC) demonstrated carvedilol significantly reduced the TAUC associated with methylone or mephedrone alone. The present study provides the first direct pharmacological intervention for the treatment of synthetic cathinone induced hyperthermia.