Apomorphine

USDailyMed:Apomorphine AU:B3 G04BE07(WHO)N04BC07(WHO)QV03AB95(WHO) AU:S4(Prescription only)CA:℞-onlyUK:POM(Prescription only)US:℞-onlyIn general: ℞ (Prescription only) (6aR)-6-methyl-5,6,6a,7-tetrahydro-4H-dibenzo[de,g]quinoline-10,11-diol 58-00-4YHCl:41372-20-7Y 6005 33 DB00714Y 5783Y N21FAR7B4SHCl:F39049Y068Y D07460Y CHEBI:48538Y ChEMBL53N DTXSID8022614 Interactive image OC1=C(O)C(C2=CC=CC3=C2[C@@H](C4)N(C)CC3)=C4C=C1 InChI=1S/C17H17NO2/c1-18-8-7-10-3-2-4-12-15(10)13(18)9-11-5-6-14(19)17(20)16(11)12/h2-6,13,19-20H,7-9H2,1H3/t13-/m1/s1YKey:VMWNQDUVQKEIOC-CYBMUJFWSA-NY Apomorphine, sold under the brand nameApokynamong others, is a type ofaporphinethat functions as a non-selectivedopamine agonistwhich activates bothD2-likeand, to a much lesser extent,D1-like receptors.It also acts as anantagonistof5-HT2andα-adrenergic receptorswith highaffinity. The compound is an alkaloid belonging to nymphaea caerulea, orblue lotus, but is also historically known as amorphinedecomposition product made by boiling morphine with concentrated acid, hence the-morphinesuffix. Contrary to its name, apomorphine does not actually contain morphine or its skeleton, nor does it bind toopioid receptors. Theapo-prefix relates to it being amorphinederivative ("[comes] from morphine"). Historically, apomorphine has been tried for a variety of uses, including as a way to relieve anxiety and craving in alcoholics, an emetic (to induce vomiting), for treatingstereotypies(repeated behaviour) in farmyard animals, and more recently in treatingerectile dysfunction.Currently, apomorphine is used in the treatment ofParkinson's disease. It is a potentemeticand should not be administered without anantiemeticsuch asdomperidone. The emetic properties of apomorphine are exploited in veterinary medicine to induce therapeuticemesisin canines that have recently ingested toxic or foreign substances. Apomorphine was also used as a private treatment ofheroin addiction, a purpose for which it was championed by the authorWilliam S. Burroughs. Burroughs and others claimed that it was a "metabolic regulator" with a restorative dimension to a damaged or dysfunctional dopaminergic system. Despite anecdotal evidence that this offers a plausible route to an abstinence-based mode, no clinical trials have ever tested this hypothesis. A recent study indicates that apomorphine might be a suitable marker for assessing centraldopaminesystem alterations associated with chronic heroin consumption.There is, however, no clinical evidence that apomorphine is an effective and safe treatment regimen foropiate addiction.