Background: Many reports are available about the increasing rate of mortality due to overuse of opioids. It has been suggested that sleep apnea can be a cause of mortality because of overuse of opioids. Opium use is common in Iran. This study aimed to assess the effect of opium on polysomnographic findings in opium addicts with sleep apnea syndrome. Materials and Methods: In this prospective ca...

BACKGROUND Along with the established effects of opium on metabolic parameters, stimulatory or inhibitory effects of opium on metabolic syndrome are also predictable. This study aimed to examine the association of opium use with metabolic syndrome and its components. METHODS This study was conducted on 5332 out of 5900 original sample participants enrolled in a population-based cohort entitle...

OBJECTIVES Smoking opium/cigarette is a global health concern. The aim of this study was to examine learning and memory of rat male offsprings whose mothers had been exposed to either opium or morphine with nicotine during pregnancy. MATERIALS AND METHODS Wistar rats were used for the experiments. In the female rats, opium, morphine and nicotine dependencies were induced by daily injections o...

BACKGROUND Myocardial infarction (MI) is a heart condition caused by the suspension of blood circulation in a part of the myocardium. There are different risk factors contributing to a heart attack. Some believe that endorphins and endogenous opioids play an important role in causing MIs. OBJECTIVES This study intended to determine the relationship between opium dependency and mortality rate ...

Opium was known and frequently used in Roman society. Medical practice recognized its usefulness as an analgesic, soporific, anti-tussic or anti-diarrheic agent, as well as other currently unsupported uses with quasi-magical properties. It was additionally used as an ingredient in antidotes, panaceas and poisons. The authors present a non-exhaustive compilation of opium use according to medical...

BACKGROUND Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, and half of all incident lung cancers are believed to occur in the developing countries, including Iran. OBJECTIVE We investigated the association of opium with the risk of lung cancer in a case-control study. METHODS We enrolled 242 cases and 484 matched controls in this study. A questionnaire was developed, con...

BACKGROUND Lead (Pb) poisoning among people using opium has been an increasing problem in Iran. The present study highlights the clinical effects of lead toxicity associated with opium use in Iran, Kerman province. METHODS Between January 2016 and June 2016, patients with signs and symptoms of Pb poisoning were questioned to assess whether they had a history of opium dependency. In total, 249...

Some Asian people believe that opium can protect the cardiovascular system. To assess this belief, we investigated the effect of passive opium smoking (POS) on cardiovascular indices in rabbits with ischemic and non-ischemic hearts.Rabbits (n = 43) were divided into control (CTL), short term opium (SO) and long term opium (LO) groups. SO and LO groups were exposed to opium smoking for 3 days an...

BACKGROUND Opium is one of the most common substances used worldwide with variable epidemiologic features in different regions. This study was performed in southern Iran, to find the epidemiology of opium use and its association with different factors and diseases. METHODS This cross-sectional study was performed on baseline data extracted from Pars Cohort Study performed in Valashahr, a rura...

The therapeutic entities which have been derived from the constituents of opium, the dried exudate of the incised capsule of the opium poppy, have probably spawned more scientific publications than any other drug group. The observations that only the laevorotatory isomer of morphine, the active constituent of opium, was active and that most opioid analgesic drugs had similarities in structure, ...