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Psychology's Mystery Drug: Is Adrenochrom Really Linked to Psychosis?
Adrenochrome is a compound produced by the oxidation of adrenaline. From the 1950s to the 1970s, it was an important topic of research on possible causes of mental illness. Although not currently used medically, carbazochrome, a derivative of adelinochrome, is used as a hemostatic drug. Confusingly, the compound's name has nothing to do with the element chromium, but rather is named for its deep purple color in its pure state.
Researchers have pointed out that the oxidation reaction of adrianochrome occurs both in vivo and in vitro, and it appears pink in solution. After further oxidation, it may polymerize into brown or black melanin compounds.
Background Information
In the 1950s and 1960s, several small studies (with no more than 15 subjects) reported that adrenochrome could induce psychotic reactions, such as impaired thinking and feelings of unreality. In 1954, researchers Abram Hoffer and Humphry Osmond announced that adelerochrome was a neurotoxic and psychotropic substance that might role in schizophrenia and other mental illnesses.
Hofing hypothesized in his so-called "adrenochrome hypothesis" that high doses of vitamin C and niacin could treat schizophrenia by lowering adrenochrome levels in the brain. But this treatment has generated widespread controversy.
In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association reported that Hofen's study had methodological flaws and cited subsequent studies that failed to confirm the benefits of this treatment. Studies in the United States, Canada, and Australia have also failed to support the use of high-dose vitamin therapy to treat schizophrenia. As Adrenochrome became undetectable in psychotic patients, the theory was gradually forgotten.
Follow again
However, in the 2000s, Adrenochrome's research attracted attention again because scientists discovered that it may serve as a normal intermediate in the formation of neuromelanin. The finding is significant because adrenochrome is at least partially detoxified by glutathione-S-transferase, and some studies have found genetic defects in the gene for this enzyme. There is also evidence that aderenocromide may be cardiotoxic.
In popular culture
In 1954, Aldous Huxley mentioned adelanochrome in his book The Doors of Perception, comparing its effects to mescaline poisoning. , even though he had not actually used the substance. Anthony Burgess first mentioned Adrencrom in his 1962 novel A Clockwork Orange, referring to it as "drencrom".
In 1971, Hunter S. Thompson mentioned Adrenochrome in Doubt and Lost in Las Vegas, sparking the current mythology surrounding the compound. , which leads people to mistakenly believe that it needs to be extracted from the adrenal glands of living people.
Adrenochrome has been mentioned in several works, some of which reflect extreme plots, such as in the TV series Lewis, where one of the motives for the crime is to harvest the adrenal glands of dead prostitutes. It has also become the subject of certain far-right conspiracy theories, such as QAnon and Pizzagate, which tell a dark story about a small group of Satan worshippers who prey on the adrenal glands of innocent people for illegal trading.
ConclusionOverall, although Adrenochrome has been controversial in the scientific community since the 1950s, its practical applications are very limited, and its image in popular culture is often exaggerated and distorted. Out of touch with the facts. As new research emerges, we need to learn more about the true nature of this compound and whether it is indeed related to psychosis. What role do you think Adrenochrome will play in future research?
