Long-term changes in glutamate transmission in the nucleus accumbens core (NAcore) contribute to the reinstatement of drug seeking after extinction of cocaine self-administration. Whether similar adaptations in glutamate transmission occur during heroin and cue-induced reinstatement of heroin seeking is unknown. After 2 weeks of heroin self-administration and 2 weeks of subsequent extinction tr...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Cardiac and cerebrovascular complications associated with cocaine abuse have increasingly been reported, but concurrent development of cocaine-induced cardiac disease and stroke has rarely been reported. CASE DESCRIPTION A 37-year-old man with a remote history of intravenous heroin and amphetamine use, cardiomyopathy, and recent cocaine use developed chest pain and vent...

Abstract Background The misuse of illicit substances is associated with increased morbidity and mortality; thus, substance abuse a global health concern. Arabian Gulf region considered crossing point consumer drugs. However, lack laboratory-based research has limited the scientific assessment drug in region. Thus, an up-to-date analytical representation situation warranted. Methods We investiga...

Almost 3 million Americans have abused heroin. The most effective treatment for this concerning epidemic is opioid replacement therapy. Although, from a historical perspective, acceptance of this therapy has been slow, growing evidence supports its efficacy. There are 3 approved medications for opioid maintenance therapy: methadone hydrochloride, levomethadyl acetate, and buprenorphine hydrochl...

It is widely believed that opioid withdrawal symptoms contribute to relapse to opioid use, but relapse is highly probable in experienced users even after prolonged abstinence and during opioid maintenance therapy. We have found using an animal model of relapse, the reinstatement procedure, that the two events that reliably reinstate heroin-seeking behavior are reexposure to heroin, and brief ex...

BACKGROUND: Heroin injection is associated with health and social problems including hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission. Few studies have examined the circumstances surrounding initiation to heroin injecting, especially current users initiating others. The current study aimed to examine the age of first heroin use and injection; administration route of first heroin use; relationship to initia...

CONTEXT The prevalence of heroin and other opioid use has markedly increased among adolescents in the last decade; however, virtually no research has been conducted to identify effective treatments for this population. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the relative efficacy of 2 pharmacotherapies, the partial opioid agonist buprenorphine hydrochloride and the centrally active alpha(2)-adrenergic blocker ...

Environmental stimuli and conditioned cues associated with heroin can induce drug-seeking behavior, but how heroin lapse interacts with cues is unclear. Rats were trained to nose-poke for i.v. heroin for 14 days and then tested for heroin seeking after withdrawal from heroin self-administration. Heroin seeking induced by cues persisted over several weeks after withdrawal, and the responding was...

BACKGROUND Heroin use and overdose deaths have increased significantly in the United States. Assessing trends in heroin use among demographic and particular substance-using groups can inform prevention efforts. METHODS FDA and CDC analyzed data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health and National Vital Statistics System reported during 2002-2013. Trends in heroin use among demographic...

AIMS To estimate the annual incidence of heroin use in Spain. PARTICIPANTS AND DESIGN Data on individuals' year of first heroin use (from 1971 to 2005), year of first heroin treatment between 1991 and 2005 and most frequent route of heroin administration when presenting to treatment were obtained from the Spanish Drug Observatory Register and used to calculate the delay between onset and trea...