Opiates and cocaine both have effects on adrenal and gonadal function. Opiates suppress the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis, whereas cocaine leads to HPA activation. Opiates also cause gonadal dysfunction in both men and women. During withdrawal from opiates and cocaine, the HPA axis is activated which may reinforce relapse behavior. This review describes these hormonal effects and ex...

BACKGROUND Although opioids suppressive effects on immune system function have been reported, this study demonstrates inflammatory reactions, such as production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and suppression of anti-inflammatory cytokines, are the main causes at organ's allotransplantation rejection in chronic morphine-treated recipients. METHODS 28 rats were categorized in 4 groups through in...

Methamphetamine (METH) is a widely abused illegal psychostimulant, which is confirmed to be neurotoxic and of great damage to human. Studies on the role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in human METH addicts are limited and inconsistent. The purposes of this study are to compare the serum BDNF levels between METH addicts and healthy controls during early withdrawal, and explore the c...

One hundred and ten male heroin addicts were administered 'Eysenck Personality Questionnaire' a self reporting measure. High scores on psychoticism, neuroticism and lie scale and low scores on extroversion in heroin addicts as compared to normal controls (n=50) were observed in this study which were comparable with those reported earlier. Further, it appears that high neuroticism scores are mor...

Present investigation is an attempt to examine the affective components i.e. anxiety and depression among the heroin addicts (N=50) and its comparison with their normal counterparts (N=50). Anxiety Scale and Beck-Depression Inventory (BDI) tests were administered on both the samples of heroin addicts and normal groups. Test Scores were analysed using one way ANOVA. The results showed significan...

The authors discuss the effect of occupational exposure to opiates. A depressive influence of opiates on the respiratory system is well known. This effect results from stimulation of opioid kappa and delta receptors in the central nervous system leading to a decrease in spirometric parameters and degranulation of mast cells. The studies carried out in the USA indicated that 26% of the pharmaceu...

INTRODUCTION Cryoglobulins are single or mixed immunoglobulins that are subject to reversible precipitation at low temperatures. OBJECTIVE The aims of this paper were: 1. Comparison of cryoglobulin positive (CP), cryoglobulin negative (CN) heroin addicts and the control group (CG) in terms of serum immunoglobulins IgG, IgA and IgM and complement components C3 and C4; 2. Comparison of CP and C...

BACKGROUND According to drug gateway theory, smoking cigarettes, especially, low onset age of smoking, is one of the risk factors for future use. OBJECTIVES The present study aimed to compare nicotine and opiate addicts to identify the differences in personality traits and onset age of smoking in the two groups that cause some individuals to appeal to other substances after starting to use ci...

INTRODUCTION One of the newest non-occupational sources of lead contamination is drug addiction, which has recently been addressed as a major source of lead poisoning in some countries. The present study aimed to investigate the blood lead level (BLL) of asymptomatic opium addicts. METHODS This case-control study was conducted during a one-year period to compare BLL of three groups consisting...

Opiates are among the most powerful analgesics and pain-relieving agents. However, they are potentially extremely addictive thereby limiting their medical use, making them exceedingly susceptible to abuse and adding to the global drug problem. It is believed that positive memories associated with the pleasurable effects of opiates and negative memories associated with dysphoria during opiate wi...