Cognitive Impairment Following Clinical or Recreational Use of Gammahydroxybutyric Acid (GHB): A Systematic Review

GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyric acid; sodium oxybate) is a general anaesthetic that is clinically used for the treatment of narcolepsy, cataplexy, alcohol withdrawal and alcohol relapse prevention. In addition, GHB is recreationally used. Most clinical and recreational users regard GHB as an innocent drug devoid of adverse effects, despite its high dependence potential and possible neurotoxic effects. At high doses, GHB may lead to a comatose state. This paper systematically reviews possible cognitive impairments due to clinical and recreational GHB use.

PubMed and PsychINFO were searched for literature data about the acute and residual cognitive deficits following GHB use. This review is conducted using the PRISMA protocol.

A total of 43 reports covering human and animal data on GHB-induced cognitive impairments were eligible and reviewed. This systematic review found no indication for cognitive impairments after clinical GHB use. However, it supports the view that moderate GHB use may result in acute short-term cognitive impairments, whereas regular high-dose GHB use and/or multiple GHB-induced comas are probably neurotoxic resulting in long-term residual cognitive impairments.

These results emphasize the need for awareness among clinicians and recreational users to minimize negative health consequences of recreational GHB use, particularly when high doses are used and GHB-induced comas occur.