Purpose: Drug adherence may be a major problem in the therapy of hypertension and in the diagnosis of therapy resistance. Adherence can be assessed by indirect methods or by direct methods like drug detection in urine with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric methods. Materials and methods: The current analysis included patients with apparently treatment- resistant hypertension (TRH) referred for renal denervation (RDN) and included in the the INSPiRED pilot trial (NCT 01505010). Adherence was repeatedly assessed by toxicological urine analysis over a time range of up to 17 months in a total of 18 patients. Results: In the first urine samples of 18 patients the adherence rate (percentage of number of detected vs. prescribed medical drugs) ranged from 0 to 100% with a median of 73.2%. In further urine samples collected during the following up to 17 months every individual patient exhibited considerable changes in the adherence rate, neither a constancy nor a tendency could be deduced. Conclusions: Urine analysis results exhibit variation over time and an assessment at a certain time point cannot be regarded as representative or predictor for future behavior. Therefore, it appears necessary to perform drug adherence testing repeatedly over time.

Venoms from cone snails (Conidae) have been extensively studied during the last decades, but those from other members of the suborder Toxoglossa, such as of Terebridae and Turridae superfamilies attracted less interest so far. Here, we report the effects of venom and gland extracts from three species of the superfamily Terebridae. By 2-electrode voltage-clamp technique the gland extracts were tested on Xenopus oocytes expressing nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) of rat neuronal (α₃β₂, α₃β₄, α₄β₂, α₄β₄, α₇) and muscle subtypes (α₁β₁γδ), and expressing potassium (Kv1.2 and Kv1.3) and sodium channels (Nav1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.6). The extracts were shown to exhibit remarkably high inhibitory activities on almost all nAChRs tested, in particular on the α₇ subtype suggesting the presence of peptides of the A-superfamily from the venom of Conus species. In contrast, no effects on the potassium and sodium channels tested were observed. The venoms of terebrid snails may offer an additional source of novel biologically active peptides.

In May 2022, semi‐synthetic cannabinoids (SSC) appeared on the European drug market, claiming to offer a legal alternative with cannabimimetic effects. Since then, the use of hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) has quickly become very popular and derivatives, among them heptyl‐analogs with prolonged alkyl‐sidechains and acetylated forms, have appeared. First HHC‐bans were introduced in some EU countries in early 2023. As only limited data is available on this dynamic consumption trend, this study aims to analyse a seizure collective comprehensively.A liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method was validated for quantification of (R,S)‐HHC, Δ⁸‐THC, Δ⁹‐THC, CBD, CBG, CBN, (R,S)‐HHC‐O and CBN‐O and applied to a collective of 80 SSC‐containing products including flowers, resins, edibles, vape liquids and papers. Further derivatives, among them (R,S)‐HHCP, Δ⁹‐THCP, Δ⁸‐THCP, (R,S)‐HHCP‐O, (R,S)‐H4CBD, THC‐O and THCP‐O were qualitatively evaluated.HHC‐content was characterised by extreme fluctuations from <LOQ up to 70.9 wt‐%. Δ⁹‐THC was detected in most seizures, with around a quarter of samples exceeding the EU‐legal limit for hemp (< 0.3 wt‐% Δ⁹‐THC). Δ⁸‐THC was rarely found in elevated levels which might indicate residues of HHC‐synthesis. H4CBD was the most frequently detected SSC‐derivative, followed by heptyl‐analogs. Acetates played a minor role and were usually only detected in traces, while elevated levels occurred rarely. Unusual cannabinoid compositions were detected in cannabis carrier material, including extreme CBD‐concentrations (up to 67.3 wt‐%) and CBG‐dominant cultivars.Systematic investigation of seizures provides information for assessing the risk to consumers and is a valuable basis for the interpretation of findings in biological material.