Much research has focused on pathways leading to opiate addiction. Pathways opposing addiction are more difficult to study but may be critical in developing interventions to combat drug dependence and withdrawal. Galanin decreases firing of locus coeruleus neurons, an effect hypothesized to decrease signs of opiate withdrawal. The current study addresses whether galanin affects morphine withdra...

AND INTRODUCTION One pharmacological treatment for opiate addiction is maintenance on opioid agonists (McKim, 2007). Maintenance drugs alleviate withdrawal symptoms, reduce craving, and block some of the effects of heroin, thereby decreasing the likelihood of relapse and drug-associated criminal behavior (McKim, 2007). Methadone is an orally-administered mu-opioid agonist, which was approved fo...

According to recent studies, in opioid abusers, compared with non-addicts, spinal anesthesia with local anesthetics has been accompanied with shorter duration of action and lower level of sensory block.1-4 Thus, it seems that chronic opiate abuse can produce tolerance, or probably, crosstolerance to analgesic effects of local anesthetics. As yet, no clear explanation has been presented for this...

During the past decade, the study of the mechanisms and functional implications of adult neurogenesis has significantly progressed. Many studies focus on the factors that regulate proliferation and fate determination of adult neural stem/progenitor cells, including addictive drugs such as opioid. Here, we review the most recent works on opiate drugs' effect on different developmental stages of ...

Purpose. The objective of this study was to document the number of controlled substance prescriptions filled by adolescents and young adult patients in the 2 years prior to presentation for opiate dependence treatment. Methods. Opiate-dependent youth (N = 125) presenting to our Medication-Assisted Treatment for Addiction program from January 1, 2008 to June 30, 2010 were identified via electron...

For centuries opiate addiction has been a difficult health and social problem. The morbidity and mortality related to such addiction affect not only the individual but also bring disastrous effects to the affected families and their communities [1, 2]. Based on Quoting epidemiological data in social surveys done in the last decade, over 13 million opium addicts are living in different countries...

The human mu opioid receptor (MOR) plays a central role in mediating the effects of opioids, both endogenous and exogenous. Epidemiological studies have shown that addiction in general, and especially opiate addiction, has a heritable component. Clinical and laboratory studies suggest that the MOR gene may contribute to the heritable component of vulnerability to develop opiate addiction. Natur...

In France, high-dosage buprenorphine (HDB) is the main substitution treatment for narcotic addiction. Few data have been published concerning clinical factors predicting a good response to this treatment in a daily practice. A hospital-based multicenter clinical research program (PHRC) was undertaken in heroin-addicted patients, diagnosed according to DSM-III-R, to detect clinical criteria susc...

Addictive diseases, including addiction to heroin, prescription opioids, or cocaine, pose massive personal and public health costs. Addictions are chronic relapsing diseases of the brain caused by drug-induced direct effects and persisting neuroadaptations at the epigenetic, mRNA, neuropeptide, neurotransmitter, or protein levels. These neuroadaptations, which can be specific to drug type, and ...

BACKGROUND Serious health problems and socioeconomic consequences of the illicit use of opiates have been proved in both developed and developing societies. OBJECTIVES We aimed to evaluate" The effects of opiate addiction through different administration routes on pulmonary inflammation and its severity." MATERIALS AND METHODS Our experiments were performed on eighteen adult male Syrian gol...