Levka on Nostr: #psychedelics "A unique psychedelic shows promise for pain and stroke An unusual ...

#psychedelics

"A unique psychedelic shows promise for pain and stroke

An unusual psychedelic compound found in the plant Salvia divinorum has shown potentially useful effects against pain, addiction, and stroke in animal experiments, although side effects remain a major barrier. The systematic review was published in the journal *Translational Psychiatry* and found much less consistent evidence for treating depression. The compound, salvinorin A, differs markedly from substances such as psilocybin and LSD. Those better-known psychedelics primarily affect the brain’s serotonin signaling (how the brain uses the chemical messenger serotonin to regulate mood and perception). In contrast, salvinorin A acts mainly through a different system known as the kappa opioid receptor, which is a specific protein in the brain involved in pain, mood, and consciousness.

This distinction has attracted researchers interested in developing treatments that work through pathways not targeted by classical psychedelics. Laboratory experiments have investigated salvinorin A in conditions ranging from pain and drug addiction to depression and reduced blood flow to the brain (such as during a stroke). Yet the evidence was scattered across different species, doses, and experimental models. Human therapeutic trials—testing the drug in human patients—are scarce, making it difficult to determine whether promising animal findings justify further clinical development."

https://www.psypost.org/a-unique-psychedelic-shows-promise-for-pain-and-stroke/