Introduction and Aim. Substance abuse imposes hazards on human health in all biopsychosocial aspects. Limited studies exist on epidemiology of substance abuse and its trend in rural areas. The present study aimed to compare substance abuse in one of the rural areas of southeast Iran, in a 12-year period (2000 and 2012). Design and Methods. In a household survey conducted in 2012, in Dashtkhak/K...

OPIUM figures in most pharmacopoeias of the East and the West, but its sinister reputation as a narcotic overshadows its medicinal properties. The British context has been examined in a recent book.' In Sri Lanka, for centuries, it enjoyed unrestricted sales and uninhibited consumption like any other article of commerce. It was not till the middle of the last century that the public became aliv...

Background: Opium is the most commonly-used narcotic in Iran and some Asian countries. There are many reports of lead poisoning in opium users. Lead poisoning encompasses a wide range of symptoms the incidence and severity of which depend on the concentration and duration of contact with lead. The present study compares blood levels of lead in two groups of non...

introduction: addiction imposes a large medical, social and economic burden on societies. currently, there is no effective treatment for addiction. our struggle to decipher the different mechanisms involved in addiction requires a proper understanding of the brain regions which promote this devastating behavior. previous studies have shown a pivotal role for insula in cigarette smoking. in this...

BACKGROUND The use of narcotics such as opium exposes addicts as susceptible targets of different diseases so that they might easily be exposed to different diseases such as fungal infections. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of addiction to opium and fungal infection on plasma levels of certain cytokines including interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-6, IL-17, Interferon gamma (IFN-γ) an...

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...

BACKGROUND The main goal of this study is to determine the relationship between opium dependency and frequency of urolithiasis renal colics. METHODS In a cross sectional study we compared opium dependency in urolithiasis patients (case group) with non-urolithiasis patients (control group) and assessed urolithiasis related renal colics as risk factor to opium dependency prevalence. Dependency ...

Background: Opium abuse as a relatively common behavior among Iranian population may have an association with the other coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors. Here, we reported the prevalence of opium abuse and its co-exposures with oral health and other CAD risk factors. Methods: We recruited 5900 inhabitant aged 15-75 years using a randomized cluster household survey. All were interviewe...

BACKGROUND Long-term use of opioids has acute effects on homeostasis of the body. Discovering the impacts of opioids on hematological parameters of narcotics withdrawal and dependents blood may be helpful in recognizing the homeostasis condition of their body for the useful treatment. METHODS In this study a cross-sectional method was applied. The abusers of opium and heroin for more than two...

Introduction: Evaluation and planning based on inaccurate statistics and information will disappoint us in fighting against the addiction phenomenon. This study has considered the personal characteristics and consumption patterns of the narcotics among self – introduced addicts. Materials & Methods: in this retrospective and descriptive–analytic study the characteristics of the self-introdu...