DLX-159
DLX-159 is a putatively non-hallucinogenic psychoplastogen which is under development for the treatment of major depressive disorder and other psychiatric disorders. It is taken by mouth.
Pharmacology
The full mechanism of action of DLX-159 has yet to be disclosed. The drug shows psychoplastogenic effects in vitro and ex vivo. These effects are blocked by the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor antagonst ketanserin as well as by the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin. It also shows indications of psychoplastogenic effects in vivo in rodents. In addition, similarly to ketamine, DLX-159 shows rapid antidepressant-like effects in the forced swim test in rodents that are present within 24hours of a single dose and are sustained for at least 3days. DLX-159 also reversed the depression-like phenotype induced by chronic interferon alpha exposure in rodents. DLX-159 does not produce the head-twitch response, and hence does not appear to have psychedelic effects.DLX-159 shows no signs of cardiotoxicity in preclinical studies. It was assessed at the serotonin 5-HT2B receptor and was found to be an antagonist of this receptor. It is said that further data on the pharmacological activity of DLX-159, including its activities at various receptors and enzymes, will be published in the future. The drug is orally bioavailable and crosses the blood–brain barrier.