Mu opioid receptors are critical for heroin dependence, and A118G SNP of the mu opioid receptor gene (OPRM1) has been linked with heroin abuse. In our population of European Caucasians (n = 118), approximately 90% of 118G allelic carriers were heroin users. Postmortem brain analyses showed the OPRM1 genotype associated with transcription, translation, and processing of the human striatal opioid...

Buprenorphine is a partial mu agonist and kappa antagonist which is used for the treatment of pain and opioid addiction. A mixture of buprenorphine hydrochloride and naloxone hydrochloride has been approved for the treatment of opioid dependence.In this study a third order derivative spectrophotometric method based on zero-crossing technique has been used for the simultaneous determination of b...

This study characterized the antinociceptive, respiratory and heart rate effects of the cannabinoid receptor agonists Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta-9-THC) and WIN 55212 ((R)-(+)-2, 3-dihydro-5-methyl-3-[(4-morpholinyl)methyl]pyrol-[1,2,3-de]-1, 4-benzoxazin-6-yl)(1-naphtalenyl)methanone monomethanesulfonate), N-arachidonyl ethanolamide (anandamide) and the mu and kappa opioid receptor ago...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Opioids and cannabinoids interact in drug addiction and relapse. We investigated the effect of the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone and/or the cannabinoid CB(1) receptor antagonist rimonabant on cannabinoid-induced reinstatement of heroin seeking and on cannabinoid substitution in heroin-abstinent rats. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH Rats were trained to self-administer heroin ...

Amethod wasdeveloped using liquid chromatography linked to atmospheric pressure ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) for the measurement of the opiates, morphine, codeine, 6-monoacetylmorphine (6-MAM), acetylcodeine (AC), and heroin in oralfluid collected from patients attending a substance abuse clinic. Of the513oralfluid samples tested, 297 showed detectable concentrations of1 or mo...

To assess whether chronic heroin abuse may generate vascular central nervous deficits, we studied the profile of vascular alterations in 17 heroin addicts (14 males mean age 31 years, range 23-39 years and 3 females mean age 33 years, range 30-35 years) before and, in one of them, 10 weeks after an ultra-rapid heroin detoxification. Using the functional technique of single-photon emission tomog...

AIMS Within the guidelines of the research programme on medical prescription of narcotics for opioid addicts (PROVE), heroin, morphine, and methadone were prescribed to heavily opioid addicted individuals in Switzerland since 1994. This contribution analyses the course of dose levels during the treatment period. DESIGN Naturalistic description of consumed dosages per day and month. SETTING ...

BACKGROUND The field of heroin use disorder intervention has been in transition in South Africa since the outbreak of the heroin epidemic. Yet despite growing evidence of an association between heroin users' use of supplementary intervention services and intervention outcomes, heroin use disorder intervention programmes in South Africa generally fail to meet international research-based interve...

Previous neuroimaging studies have demonstrated both structural and functional damages in heroin-dependent individuals. However, few studies investigated gray matter deficits and abnormal resting-state networks together in heroin-dependent individuals. In the present study, voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to identify brain regions with gray matter density reduction. Resting-state fMRI co...

Mu and kappa opioid agonists are known to produce different, and sometimes opposite, effects on several pharmacological and behavioral measures. However, whether kappa agonists can be used to antagonize the reinforcing and putative dopamine (DA)-releasing properties of a mu agonist such as heroin is unclear. With the use of the high temporal and spatial resolution of in vivo fast-cyclic voltamm...