2,5-Dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine (DOI) is a psychedelic drug and a substituted amphetamine. Unlike many other substituted amphetamines, however, it is not primarily a stimulant.[3] DOI has a stereocenter and R-(−)-DOI is the more active stereoisomer. In neuroscience research, [125I]-R-(−)-DOI is used as a radioligand and indicator of the presence of 5-HT2A serotonin receptors. DOI's effects have been compared to LSD, although there are differences that experienced users can distinguish. Besides the longer duration, the trip tends to be more energetic than an LSD trip, with more body load and a different subjective visual experience. The after effects include residual stimulation and difficulty sleeping, which, depending on the dose, may persist for days.[3] While rare, it is sometimes sold as a substitute for LSD, or even sold falsely as LSD, which may be dangerous because DOI does not have the same established safety profile as LSD.[4]
Research[5] suggests that administration of (R)-DOI blocks pulmonary inflammation, mucus hyper-production, airway hyper-responsiveness and turns off key genes in in-lung immune response. These effects block the development of allergic asthma in a mouse model.
Several 5-HT2A agonist hallucinogens including (R)-2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine DOI, TCB-2, LSD and LA-SS-Az have unexpectedly also been found to act as potent inhibitors of TNF, with DOI being the most active, showing TNF inhibition in the picomolar range, an order of magnitude more potent than its action as a hallucinogen.[6][7][8]
DOI has been shown to be an extremely potent inhibitoroftumour necrosis factor-alpha inflammation at picomolar concentrations in cell studies. TNF-alpha is an important target for research into degenerative conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and Alzheimer's disease, where the disease process involves tissue damage through chronic inflammation. This could make DOI and other 5-HT2A agonists an entirely new area for development of novel treatments for these conditions.[11]
In January 2007, British police reported that three young men had fallen ill, reportedly, after taking DOI at a rave in Biggleswade, near Milton Keynes, and warned others who had taken it to seek medical attention. This would appear to be the first indication that DOI has found more widespread use as a recreational drug in the UK.[13]
Sveriges riksdag added DOI to schedule I ("substances, plant materials and fungi which normally do not have medical use") as narcotics in Sweden as of August 30, 2007, published by Medical Products Agency in their regulation LVFS 2007:10 listed as DOI, 4-jod-2,5-dimetoxi-amfetamin.[20]
^ abcShulgin, A; Shulgin, A (1990). "#67 DOI". PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story. Transform Press. ISBN978-0963009609. Archived from the original on 2014-10-27. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
^ abcRoth, BL; Driscol, J (12 January 2011). "PDSP Ki Database". Psychoactive Drug Screening Program (PDSP). University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the United States National Institute of Mental Health. Archived from the original on 8 November 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
^Gill, A (22 July 2013). "POISONS STANDARD 2013"(PDF). Therapeutic Goods Administration. Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
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