A selective serotonin releasing agent (SSRA) is a type of 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 selectively

Functional Selectivity

Functional selectivity is the ligand-dependent selectivity for certain signal transduction pathways in one and the same receptor. This can be present when a receptor has several possible signal transduction pathways...

 induces the release

Synapse

In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that permits a neuron to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another cell...

 of serotonin

Serotonin

Serotonin or 5-hydroxytryptamine is a monoamine neurotransmitter. Biochemically derived from tryptophan, serotonin is primarily found in the gastrointestinal tract, platelets, and in the central nervous system of animals including humans...

 from the pre-synaptic neuron

Synapse

In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that permits a neuron to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another cell...

 into the synapse

Synapse

In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that permits a neuron to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another cell...

. This in turn leads to increased extracellular

Extracellular

In cell biology, molecular biology and related fields, the word extracellular means "outside the cell". This space is usually taken to be outside the plasma membranes, and occupied by fluid...

 concentration

Concentration

In chemistry, concentration is defined as the abundance of a constituent divided by the total volume of a mixture. Four types can be distinguished: mass concentration, molar concentration, number concentration, and volume concentration...

s of serotonin and therefore a selective increase in serotonergic

Serotonergic

Serotonergic or serotoninergic means "related to the neurotransmitter serotonin". A synapse is serotonergic if it uses serotonin as its neurotransmitter...

 neurotransmission

Neurotransmission

Neurotransmission , also called synaptic transmission, is the process by which signaling molecules called neurotransmitters are released by a neuron , and bind to and activate the receptors of another neuron...

.
SSRAs have been used as anorectic

Anorectic

An anorectic or anorexic , also known as anorexigenic or appetite suppressant, is a dietary supplement and/or drug which reduces appetite, food consumption, and as a result, causes weight loss to occur.-List of anorectics:Numerous pharmaceutical compounds are marketed as appetite suppressants.The...

s or appetite suppressants in the past, and they have also been suggested as novel antidepressant

Antidepressant

An antidepressant is a psychiatric medication used to alleviate mood disorders, such as major depression and dysthymia and anxiety disorders such as social anxiety disorder. According to Gelder, Mayou &*Geddes people with a depressive illness will experience a therapeutic effect to their mood;...

 and anxiolytic

Anxiolytic

An anxiolytic is a drug used for the treatment of anxiety, and its related psychological and physical symptoms...

 agents with a faster onset and superior efficacy in comparison to the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor

Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors or serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitor are a class of compounds typically used as antidepressants in the treatment of depression, anxiety disorders, and some personality disorders. The efficacy of SSRIs is disputed...

s (SSRIs).

The term 'selective serotonin releasing agent' was coined by David E. Nichols

David E. Nichols

David E. Nichols is an American pharmacologist and medicinal chemist.Presently the Robert C. and Charlotte P. Anderson Distinguished Chair in Pharmacology at Purdue University, Nichols has worked in the field of psychoactive drugs since 1969...

.

List of SSRAs

Pharmaceutical Drugs

• Chlorphentermine
  Chlorphentermine
  Chlorphentermine is an appetite suppressant of the phenethylamine class. Developed in 1962, it is the 4-chloro derivative of the better known appetite suppressant phentermine, which is still in current use.Chlorphentermine itself is a relatively weak stimulant with little abuse potential, but is...
  
   (Apsedon, Desopimon, Lucofen)
• Cloforex
  Cloforex
  Cloforex is an anorectic of the amphetamine class. It is a prodrug to chlorphentermine....
  
   (Oberex; prodrug
  Prodrug
  A prodrug is a pharmacological substance administered in an inactive form. Once administered, the prodrug is metabolised in vivo into an active metabolite, a process termed bioactivation. The rationale behind the use of a prodrug is generally for absorption, distribution, metabolism, and...
  
   to chlorphentermine
  Chlorphentermine
  Chlorphentermine is an appetite suppressant of the phenethylamine class. Developed in 1962, it is the 4-chloro derivative of the better known appetite suppressant phentermine, which is still in current use.Chlorphentermine itself is a relatively weak stimulant with little abuse potential, but is...
  
  )
• Dexfenfluramine
  Dexfenfluramine
  Dexfenfluramine, marketed as dexfenfluramine hydrochloride under the name Redux, is a serotoninergic anorectic drug: it reduces appetite by increasing the amount of extracellular serotonin in the brain...
  
   (Redux)
• Etolorex
  Etolorex
  Etolorex is a anorectic of the amphetamine class. It was never marketed....
  
   (prodrug
  Prodrug
  A prodrug is a pharmacological substance administered in an inactive form. Once administered, the prodrug is metabolised in vivo into an active metabolite, a process termed bioactivation. The rationale behind the use of a prodrug is generally for absorption, distribution, metabolism, and...
  
   to chlorphentermine
  Chlorphentermine
  Chlorphentermine is an appetite suppressant of the phenethylamine class. Developed in 1962, it is the 4-chloro derivative of the better known appetite suppressant phentermine, which is still in current use.Chlorphentermine itself is a relatively weak stimulant with little abuse potential, but is...
  
  ; never marketed)
• Fenfluramine
  Fenfluramine
  Fenfluramine is a drug that was part of the Fen-Phen anti-obesity medication . Fenfluramine was introduced on the U.S. market in 1973. It is the racemic mixture of two enantiomers, dextrofenfluramine and levofenfluramine...
  
   (Pondimin, Fen-Phen)
• Norfenfluramine
  Norfenfluramine
  Norfenfluramine is a psychoactive drug which functions as a serotonin releasing agent and potent 5HT2B receptor agonist. The action of norfenfluramine on 5HT2B receptors on heart valves leads to a characteristic pattern of heart failure following proliferation of cardiac fibroblasts on the...
  
   (metabolite
  Metabolite
  Metabolites are the intermediates and products of metabolism. The term metabolite is usually restricted to small molecules. A primary metabolite is directly involved in normal growth, development, and reproduction. Alcohol is an example of a primary metabolite produced in large-scale by industrial...
  
   of fenfluramine
  Fenfluramine
  Fenfluramine is a drug that was part of the Fen-Phen anti-obesity medication . Fenfluramine was introduced on the U.S. market in 1973. It is the racemic mixture of two enantiomers, dextrofenfluramine and levofenfluramine...
  
  ; never marketed)

Research Chemicals

• 2-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (2-Methyl-MDA)
• 3-Methoxy-4-methylamphetamine
  3-Methoxy-4-methylamphetamine
  3-Methoxy-4-methylamphetamine is an entactogen and psychedelic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine classes. It was first synthesized in 1970 and was encountered as a street drug in Italy in the same decade. MMA was largely forgotten until being reassayed by David E...
  
   (MMA)
• 3-Methyl-4,5-methylenedioxyamphetamine
  3-Methyl-4,5-methylenedioxyamphetamine
  5-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine is an entactogen and psychedelic drug of the amphetamine class. It is a ring-methylated derivative of MDA and a structural isomer of MDMA...
  
   (5-Methyl-MDA)
• 3,4-Ethylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine (EDMA)
• 4-Methoxyamphetamine (PMA)
• 4-Methoxy-N-ethylamphetamine (PMEA)
• 4-Methoxy-N-methylamphetamine (PMMA)
• 4-Methylthioamphetamine (4-MTA)
• 5-(2-Aminopropyl)-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran
  5-(2-Aminopropyl)-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran
  5--2,3-dihydrobenzofuran is a putative entactogen drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine classes. It is an analogue of the MDA where the heterocyclic 3-position oxygen from the 3,4-methylenedioxy ring has been replaced by a methylene group...
  
   (5-APDB)
• 5-Indanyl-2-aminopropane (IAP)
• 5-Methoxy-6-methylaminoindane (MMAI)
• 5-Trifluoromethyl-2-aminoindane (TAI)
• 5,6-Methylenedioxy-2-aminoindane
  5,6-Methylenedioxy-2-aminoindane
  5,6-Methylenedioxy-2-aminoindane is a drug developed in the 1990s by a team led by David E. Nichols at Purdue University. It acts as a non-neurotoxic and highly selective serotonin releasing agent in vitro and produces entactogen effects in humans.- Chemistry :The chemical structure of MDAI is...
  
   (MDAI)
• 5,6-Methylenedioxy-N-methyl-2-aminoindane
  5,6-Methylenedioxy-N-methyl-2-aminoindane
  5,6-Methylenedioxy-N-methyl-2-aminoindane , is a drug developed in the 1990s by a team led by David E. Nichols at Purdue University...
  
   (MDMAI)
• 6-Chloro-2-aminotetralin (6-CAT)
• 6-Tetralinyl-2-aminopropane (TAP)
• 6,7-Methylenedioxy-2-aminotetralin (MDAT)
• 6,7-Methylenedioxy-N-methyl-2-aminotetralin (MDMAT)
• N-Ethyl-5-trifluoromethyl-2-aminoindane (ETAI)
• N-Methyl-5-indanyl-2-aminopropane (IMP)