The use of legal and illegal substances by medical students is a phenomenon that is only partially known. The aim of this paper was to review the literature published internationally in the last 25 years about the use of legal and illegal substances by medical students. A systematic search was made of MEDLINE and LILACS. One hundred and six manuscripts were evaluated, which included a populatio...

The presence of morphine-like and codeine-like substances was demonstrated in the pedal ganglia, hemolymph, and mantle tissues of the mollusc Mytilus edulis. The pharmacological activities of the endogenous morphine-like material resemble those of authentic morphine. Both substances were found to counteract, in a dose-dependent manner, the stimulatory effect of tumor necrosis factor alpha or in...

M any over-the-counter, or OTC, medicines containing pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, or other sympathomimetic amines interfere with screening tests for amphetamines but do not cause positive test results in the gas chromatography/ mass spectrometric, or GC/MS, confirmation, thus pose no serious challenge in drugs-of-abuse (DOA) testing. In contrast, several prescription medicines containing opioid,...

Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is suffered by infants withdrawing from substances on which they have become physically dependent after in utero exposure. They may require prolonged treatment and spend weeks or even months in hospital. A wide range of drugs have been used to treat NAS. The efficacy of few, however, have been adequately investigated. Evidence suggests that opioids are the mos...

Abstract Background With the opioid epidemic numbers of fentanyl-related adult deaths are increasing in Canada but there is limited knowledge fentanyl’s effect on paediatric deaths. Objectives Our aim to describe cases fatal toxicity, and their characteristics, help guide public policy health care system response. Design/Methods Patient information was collected from investigative aid (OIA) dat...

Identifying the changes that occur in the brain as a result of alcohol and other drug (AOD) use is important to understanding the development of AOD addiction. The nerve cell signaling chemical (i.e., neurotransmitter) γ-aminobutync acid (GABA) plays an important role in the brain chemistry of addiction. Most drugs interact with binding molecules (i.e., receptors) for specific neurotransmitters...

Background: Poisoning comprises about 7% of accidents in children under 5-year-old and 2% all pediatric deaths developing countries. To warn against prevent future potential poisoning with opioid substances, this comparative study was conducted on cases referred to the 17th Shahrivar Hospital Rasht, Iran, 2006 2018. Methods: In retrospective, cross-sectional study, hospitalized diagnosed 2018 w...

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 deve...

Naturally occurring environmental substances often mimic endogenous substances found in mammals and are capable of interacting with specific proteins, such as receptors, with a high degree of fidelity and selectivity. Narcotic alkaloids and amphibian skin secretions, introduced into human society through close association with plants and animals through folk medicine and religious divination pr...