Fenfluramine neurotoxicity

[ohlone]

Apparently fenfluramine causes serotonergic neurotoxicity in monkeys, with large serotonin deficits existing up to 17 months after dosing: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7514223

Fenfluramine neurotoxicity has been compared to the notorious pCA:
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.688.2711&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Administration of an SSRI after a few hours prevents this neurotoxicity, just like pCA:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9190887

more on the mechanisms of fenfluarmine neurotoxicity:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11085319Is f

So who cares?

Well, I saw a post bringing attention to this on reddit. Apparently 3-fea (a very close analog of fenfluramine) is being sold now, along with 3-fa and soon 3-fma. How likely is it that these chemicals share fenfluramine's unique and long lasting serotonergic neurotoxicity? Might 4 subbed fluro amps be the only "safe" halogenated amp/ethylamps, due para hydroxylation resistance?

There were a bunch of harm reduction posts a couple years back when 4-CA was being sold in party pills, but by all accounts fenfluramine and close analogs might be just as bad. All you read about it on the forums is cardiotoxicity though.

Thoughts?

 

[sekio]

Trifluoromethyl groups behave a lot differently than plain fluorine... 3-FA is likely to be more like 2-FA/amphetamine than 4-FA or 4-Cl-amphetamine.

 

[ohlone]

From the limited experience reports, 3-fea appears to be quite unlike 3-fa or 2-fma, and is even more serotonergic and less stimy than 4-fa. I suppose further study into the mechanisms of fenfluramine neurotoxicity would be helpful.

 

[ohlone]

A bit off topic, but I share your concerns about mislabeled substituted amphetamines. There was a fairly large Chinese lab that was offering 4-Chloro-methamphetamine a few months ago. When they were told about the neurotoxicity of the compound, it disappeared from their menu. Do you honestly believe they flushed all the kilos of it they produced? It may very well be showing up in some poor bastard's molly or 4-FA from some of the less scrupulous vendors. After all, the experience report of those 4-CA legal party pills a few years back was that it felt like extremely clean and euphoric MDMA.

Anyway, I don't know much at all about chemistry, so maybe someone can help me out. Are trifluoromethyl groups attached to a benzene ring as resistant to metabolism as a fluoro group?

More meth-induced rambling is welcome.