Apomorphine

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Apomorphine, sold under the brand name Apokyn among others, is a type of aporphine that functions as a non-selective dopamine agonist which activates both D2-like and, to a much lesser extent, D1-like receptors. It also acts as an antagonist of 5-HT2 and α-adrenergic receptors with high affinity. The compound is an alkaloid belonging to Nymphaea caerulea (blue lotus), but is also historically known as a morphine decomposition product made by boiling morphine with concentrated acid, hence the -morphine suffix. Contrary to its name, apomorphine does not actually contain morphine or its skeleton, nor does it bind to opioid receptors. The apo- prefix relates to it being a morphine derivative ("[comes] from morphine"). Historically, apomorphine has been tried for a variety of uses, including as a way to relieve anxiety and craving in alcoholics, an emetic (to induce vomiting), for treating stereotypies (repeated behaviour) in farmyard animals, and more recently in treating erectile dysfunction...

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