Leading Italian studies support the use of γ-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), not only in the treatment of the alcohol withdrawal syndrome, but also in maintaining alcohol abstinence. GHB gives a better result than naltrexone and disulfiram in maintaining abstinence, and it has a better effect on craving than placebo or disulfiram. The problem is that about 30-40% of alcoholics are non-responders to ...

We present a general overview of the drug-facilitated sexual assault phenomenon in the United States sexual abuse of both women and men, while under the influence of so-called “date-rape” drugs, has been the focus of many investigations. Throughout the 1990s, an alarming increase in anecdotal reports of this crime as well as in the number of scientific publications on drug-facilitated sexual as...

The assessment procedure of new synthetic illicit drugs that are not documented in the UN treaty on psychotropic drugs was evaluated using a modified Electre model. Drugs were evaluated by an expert panel via the open Delphi approach, where the written score was discussed on 16 items, covering medical, health, legal, and criminalistic issues of the drugs. After this face-to-face discussion the ...

Low, nonsedative doses of γ-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) produce short-term anterograde amnesia in humans and memory impairments in experimental animals. We have previously shown that acute systemic treatment of GHB in adolescent female rats impairs the acquisition, but not the expression, of contextual fear memory while sparing both the acquisition and the expression of auditory cued fear memory....

Succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase (SSADH) deficiency is a rare hereditary disorder of the CNS catabolism of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), leading to accumulation of the metabolite 4-hydroxybutyrate (GHB). Here the authors report on 1.5 and 3.0 T proton MR spectroscopy in a patient with SSADH deficiency. A characteristic pattern with clearly elevated GABA levels and traces of GHB was found i...

A new microcrystal test for the detection of gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) is described. The silver/copper reagent consists of an aqueous solution of 0.1 g of cupric nitrate and 0.1 g of silver nitrate in 10.0 mL water. While some crystals form upon evaporation of the reagent, the test forms distinctive crystals for GHB and does not form crystals with some commonly encountered controlled substanc...

OBJECTIVE To examine the association of hyperglycemia, as measured by GHb, with subsequent mortality in a nationally representative sample of adults. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We included adults aged > or =20 years who participated in Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-1994) and had complete information, including baseline diabetes status by self-report and measured ...

Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) intoxication is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in patients taking the drug for recreational purposes. Due to the recent increase in emergency room visits, hospital admissions, and deaths, it has become necessary to re-examine the pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, clinical manifestations, and potential adverse effects associated with GH...

Because GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate) is present in both blood and urine of the general population, toxicologists must be able to discriminate between endogenous levels and a concentration resulting from exposure. In this paper, we propose a procedure for the detection of exogenous GHB in blood by gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS). Following liquid-liquid a...

BACKGROUND Beriberi occurs in Vientiane, Lao PDR, among breastfed infants. Clinical disease may be the tip of an iceberg with subclinical thiamin deficiency contributing to other illnesses. Thiamin treatment could improve outcome. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS A cohort of 778 sick infants admitted during one year without clinical evidence of beriberi were studied prospectively and erythrocyt...