Selfotel is a drug which acts as a competitive NMDA antagonist, directly competing with glutamate for binding to the receptor. Initial studies showed it to have anticonvulsant

Anticonvulsant

The anticonvulsants are a diverse group of pharmaceuticals used in the treatment of epileptic seizures. Anticonvulsants are also increasingly being used in the treatment of bipolar disorder, since many seem to act as mood stabilizers, and in the treatment of neuropathic pain. The goal of an...

, anxiolytic

Anxiolytic

An anxiolytic is a drug used for the treatment of anxiety, and its related psychological and physical symptoms...

, analgesic

Analgesic

An analgesic is any member of the group of drugs used to relieve pain . The word analgesic derives from Greek an- and algos ....

 and neuroprotective effects, and it was originally researched for the treatment of stroke

Stroke

A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...

, but subsequent animal and human studies showed phencyclidine

Phencyclidine

Phencyclidine , commonly initialized as PCP and known colloquially as angel dust, is a recreational dissociative drug...

-like effects, as well as limited efficacy and evidence for possible neurotoxicity

Neurotoxicity

Neurotoxicity occurs when the exposure to natural or artificial toxic substances, which are called neurotoxins, alters the normal activity of the nervous system in such a way as to cause damage to nervous tissue. This can eventually disrupt or even kill neurons, key cells that transmit and process...

under some conditions, and so clinical development was ultimately discontinued.