Crystal meth is a form of the stimulant drug methamphetamine that, when smoked, can rapidly achieve high concentrations in the brain. Methamphetamine causes the release of the neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin and activates the cardiovascular and central nervous systems. The levels of dopamine are low in the brain of some drug users, but whether this represents neuronal l...

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the ratio of suicide attempts between female opium and Methamphetamine (MA) users to determine the relationship between the increased prevalence of MA and suicide risk.  Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 136 drug dependent females were randomly selected from Tehran. Data gathering was performed by a demographic questionnaire and Beck Scale for Suic...

The feasibility, use, and acceptability of text messages to track methamphetamine use and promote antiretroviral treatment (ART) adherence among HIV-infected methamphetamine users was examined. From an ongoing randomized controlled trial, 30-day text response rates of participants assigned to the intervention (individualized texting for adherence building (iTAB), n = 20) were compared to those ...

BACKGROUND The prevalence of methamphetamine use and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) incidence are high in lowland Thai society. Despite increasing social and cultural mixing among residents of highland and lowland Thai societies, however, little is known about methamphetamine use among ethnic minority villagers in the highlands. METHODS A cross-sectional survey examined Karen villagers fr...

BACKGROUND Chronic methamphetamine abuse can lead to multiple health hazards. In particular, the substance is associated with devastating effects on oral health including symptoms such as rampant caries, gingiva inflammation, and xerostomia, whereby the term "Meth Mouth" occurs in the current literature. However, "Meth Mouth" pathology is primarily described on the basis of individual cases or ...

This study was conducted to better understand the distribution characteristics of methamphetamine and amphetamine in urine and hair specimens collected from alleged methamphetamine users in the local population. It is anticipated that the data hereby obtained will be helpful to the interpretation of the time and pattern of drug use. Eight alleged methamphetamine-using arrestees from Keelung Pol...

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections and methamphetamine use are emerging public health problems. We conducted a case-control investigation to determine risk factors for MRSA skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) in residents of a largely rural southeastern community in the United States. Case-patients were persons >12 years old who had culturable SSTIs; controls had ...

AACP.com Annals of Clinical Psychiatry | Vol. 25 No. 2 | May 2013 153 Cocaine abuse epidemics come and go. Some of us remember the cocaine epidemic of the 1980s that peaked in 1985 and produced an estimated 2.5 million lifetime stimulant abusers (p 3). Some may assume cocaine abuse was a big problem but hopefully isn’t big anymore. Unfortunately, it still is, and we are facing yet another epide...