Administration of cholecystokinin was recently found to attenuate opiate analgesia. In the present study, the role of endogenous cholecystokinin in opiate analgesia was examined. Endogenously released cholecystokinin was sequestered by antibodies to cholecystokinin developed in response to an active immunization procedure. Morphine analgesia was potentiated and prolonged in rats immunized again...

Background: One of the most important strategies in preventing addiction is changing positive attitudes and stabilizing negative attitudes towards opiate abuse. Current research has been comparing the effectiveness of behavioral recognition and stress surmounting techniques instructions on changing students' positive attitudes towards opiate abuse.Methods: To determine the effectiveness of beha...

Toxicology is the study of poisons and poisoning and has an ancient and venerable history. Although there have been numerous notorious poisonings throughout the ages and rather astute descriptions of toxic agents, the scientific study of toxicology did not commence until the 19th century. There was rapid development of analytical methods in the late 19th century and then an acceleration of both...

BACKGROUND The long-term effects of opiate use on human brain are not known. The goal of this preliminary study was to determine whether human subjects with histories of opiate dependence have persistent differences in brain function as compared with individuals without substance use disorders, and whether methadone maintenance reverses or ameliorates the potential abnormality. METHOD Positro...

BACKGROUND Cognitive deficits and personality pathology are prevalent in opiate dependence, even during periods of remission, and likely contribute to relapse. Understanding the relationship between the two in vulnerable, opiate-addicted patients may contribute to the design of better treatment and relapse prevention strategies. METHODS The Millon Multiaxial Clinical Inventory (MCMI) and a se...

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...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the direct effects of prenatal cocaine exposure and prenatal opiate exposure on infant mental, motor, and behavioral outcomes longitudinally between 1 and 3 years old. METHODS As part of a prospective, longitudinal, multisite study, the Bayley Scales of Infant Development II were administered to 1227 infants who were exposed to cocaine (n = 474), opiates (n = 50), cocain...

BACKGROUND Opiate addiction affects young adults whose life expectancy is reduced as a consequence of their habit. In the midst of the AIDS epidemic, the present study objective was to analyse recent overall and cause-specific mortality trends among opiate addicts in Catalonia (Spain). METHODS Mortality was assessed retrospectively in an opiate addict cohort assembled from admissions to hospi...

The word `forensic' simply means `to do with courts of law' and, as far as toxicology and biochemistry laboratories are concerned, embraces everything which has or might have legal implications. Some of the work in which the biochemistry department becomes involved is obviously `forensic' but this may not be apparent at the time of receipt of the request; this is the ®rst pitfall. Toseland high...