N-Ethylnorketamine (ethketamine, NENK, 2-Cl-2'-Oxo-PCE) is a designer drug which is presumed to have similar properties to ketamine, a dissociativeanesthetic drug with hallucinogenic and sedative effects. It has been sold over the internet since around September 2012, and identified in seized drug samples by analytical laboratories in the UK and other European countries.[1]
It is an NMDA receptor antagonist. In mice its antidepressant effects are dependent on activation of AMPA and 5-HT2 receptors, as blocking those abolishes said activity.[2]
Legal Status
As of October 2015 NENK is a controlled substance in the United Kingdom,[3] China,[4] and the US state of Alabama.[5]
^Sayson LV, Botanas CJ, Custodio RJ, Abiero A, Kim M, Lee HJ, et al. (July 2019). "The novel methoxetamine analogs N-ethylnorketamine hydrochloride (NENK), 2-MeO-N-ethylketamine hydrochloride (2-MeO-NEK), and 4-MeO-N-ethylketamine hydrochloride (4-MeO-NEK) elicit rapid antidepressant effects via activation of AMPA and 5-HT2 receptors". Psychopharmacology. 236 (7): 2201–2210. doi:10.1007/s00213-019-05219-x. PMID30891619. S2CID253743164.
^"关于印发《非药用类麻醉药品和精神药品列管办法》的通知" (in Chinese). China Food and Drug Administration. 27 September 2015. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.