Previous studies suggest that binge eating sugar leads to behavioral and neurochemical changes similar to those seen with drug addiction, including signs of opiate-like withdrawal. Studies are emerging that show multiple neurochemical and behavioral indices of addiction when animals overeat a fat-rich diet. The goal of the present study was to utilize liquid and solid diets high in sugar and fa...

BACKGROUND Substance misuse services within the United Kingdom have traditionally been oriented to opiate and crack users, and attended predominantly by male service users. Groups who do not fit this demographic, such as women or those whose primary drug of choice is neither heroin nor crack, have tended to be underrepresented in services. In addition, there can be stigma associated with tradit...

BACKGROUND Most classes of addictive substances alter the function and structural plasticity of the brain reward circuitry. Midkine (MK) and pleiotrophin (PTN) are growth/differentiation cytokines which, similarly to neurotrophins, play an important role in repair, neurite outgrowth, and cell differentiation. PTN or MK signaling through receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase β/ζ (RPTPβ/ζ), leads...

There are three types of opiate alkaloids. First, the poppy alkaloids: morphine, codeine, thebaine, noscapine and papaverine; then, the semi-synthetic and synthetic derivatives used in therapy as antitussives and analgesics, such as pholcodine, ethylmorphine and dextromethorphan; at last narcotic compounds, diacetylmorphine (heroin) and opiates employed as substitutes in treatment of addiction:...

Bovine adrenal medullary chromaffin cells were used to study the relationship between opioid peptide and catecholamine secretion from the adrenal medulla. Stimulation of chromaffin cells by acetylcholine, nicotine, veratridine, barium, or Ionomycin produced secretion of opioid peptides and catecholamines which was proportional to the cellular content of these substances. Nicotine-evoked secreti...

BACKGROUND Iran is one of the major consumers of opium and opiate substances in the world. Addiction has become a very important issue in the 21st century and an urgent one in Iran. The consumption of this substance leaves a variety of impacts on the human body. The goal of this study is to investigate the changes of the biochemical parameters derived from opiate substances in addicts during th...

toxocara canis (nematoda: ascaridae) is an intestinal nematode parasite of dogs, which can also cause disease in humans. transmission to humans usually occurs because of direct contact with t. canis eggs present in soil contaminated with the feces of infected dogs. this nematode has extraordinary abilities to survive for many years in different tissues of vertebrates, and develop to maturity in...

BACKGROUND The Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS) is a five-item scale that has been reported to be a reliable and valid screening instrument for dependence in several types of substances. Optimal cutoff points on the SDS indicative of clinically significant dependence have been determined for a large range of substance types, however, to date no data have been reported on its performance in a ...

Methadone maintenance therapy is the standard of care in many countries for opioid-dependent women who become pregnant. Despite recent evidence showing significant neurodevelopmental changes in children and adults exposed to both licit and illicit substances in utero, data on the effects of opioids in particular remains scarce. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of opiate use,...

By Arthur Falek, Ph.D. What is known about the genetic aspects of opiate addiction? Opiates such as heroin and dilaudid are drugs which have long been known to relieve or depress pain but increased consumption frequently result in uncontrolled drug use and addiction. These properties of opiates led to the discovery that there are specific opiate receptors in the brain and that the central nervo...