Lefetamine
Encyclopedia
Lefetamine is a drug
Drug
A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.In pharmacology, a...

 which is a stimulant
Stimulant
Stimulants are psychoactive drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both. Examples of these kinds of effects may include enhanced alertness, wakefulness, and locomotion, among others...

 and also an analgesic
Analgesic
An analgesic is any member of the group of drugs used to relieve pain . The word analgesic derives from Greek an- and algos ....

 with effects comparable to codeine
Codeine
Codeine or 3-methylmorphine is an opiate used for its analgesic, antitussive, and antidiarrheal properties...

.

Lefetamine was invented in the 1930s and showed weak analgetic activity.

It was investigated in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 in 1960. The l-isomere showed weak analgetic action comparable to codeine and antitussive action far weaker than codeine. The d-isomer showed no such activity but caused seizures in rats.

It was abused in Japan during the 1950s. In a small study in 1989 it showed some effect against opioid withdrawal symptoms without causing withdrawal symptoms itself. It was concluded that it may be an opioid partial agonist.

It has been abused in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, in 1989 a small study of 15 abusers and some volunteers found, that it had some partial similarity to opioids, that it produced withdrawal symptoms and had dependence and abuse potential to a certain degree.

In a small study in 1994 it was compared to clonidine
Clonidine
Clonidine is a sympatholytic medication used to treat medical conditions, such as high blood pressure, some pain conditions, ADHD and anxiety/panic disorder...

 and buprenorphine
Buprenorphine
Buprenorphine is a semi-synthetic opioid that is used...

 for the detoxification of methadone
Methadone
Methadone is a synthetic opioid, used medically as an analgesic and a maintenance anti-addictive for use in patients with opioid dependency. It was developed in Germany in 1937...

 patients and found to be inferior to both for this purpose.

Research

Some related pyrrylphenylethanones had analgetic activity comparable to morphine Some pyrrole
Pyrrole
Pyrrole is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound, a five-membered ring with the formula C4H4NH. It is a colourless volatile liquid that darkens readily upon exposure to air. Substituted derivatives are also called pyrroles, e.g., N-methylpyrrole, C4H4NCH3...

 analogues were reported to have analgetic effects comparable to lefetamine and being devoid of neurotoxic properties.
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