Dimemorfan


Dimemorfan is an antitussive of the morphinan family that is widely used in Japan and is also marketed in Spain and Italy. It was developed by Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical and introduced in Japan in 1975. It was later introduced in Spain in 1981 and Japan in 1985.

Side effects

Adverse effects include nausea, somnolence, dry mouth, and decreased appetite.

Pharmacology

Dimemorfan is an analogue of dextromethorphan and its active metabolite dextrorphan, and similarly to them, acts as a potent agonist of the σ1 receptor. However, unlike DXM and DXO, it does not act significantly as an NMDA receptor antagonist, and for this reason, lacks dissociative effects, thereby having reduced side effects and abuse potential in comparison. Similarly to DXM and DXO, dimemorfan has only relatively low affinity for the σ2 receptor.