Drug of abuse

Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate the expansion and prevalence of anabolic steroid use by examining the divergent effects between health and drug abuse and to create more awareness around the harmful consequences of these drugs when administered at abusive levels. Methods: A focused and concise literature search was conducted, and 101 high-quality articles were included in the review. Results: The findings underscore the adverse health risks of steroid abuse, emphasizing the stark contrast between health and drug abuse...

Workplace drug testing (WDT) is essential to prevent drug abuse disorders among the workforce because it can impair work performance and safety. However, WDT is limited by many challenges, such as urine adulteration, specimen selection, and new psychoactive substances (NPS). This review examined the issues related to WDT. Various scientific databases were searched for articles on WDT for drug detection published between 1986 (when WDT started) and January 2024. The review discussed the history, importance, and challenges of WDT, such as time of specimen collection/testing, specimen adulteration, interference in drug testing, and detection of NPS...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.radcr.2024.01.016.].

BACKGROUND: Homelessness is a traumatic experience, and can have a devastating effect on those experiencing it. People who are homeless often face significant barriers when accessing public services, and have often experienced adverse childhood events, extreme social disadvantage, physical, emotional and sexual abuse, neglect, low self-esteem, poor physical and mental health, and much lower life expectancy compared to the general population. Rates of problematic substance use are disproportionately high, with many using drugs and alcohol to deal with the stress of living on the street, to keep warm, or to block out memories of previous abuse or trauma...

Fentanyl is a synthetic μ-opioid receptor agonist approved to treat severe to moderate pain with faster onset of action and about 100 times more potent than morphine. Over last two decades, abuse of fentanyl and its derivatives has an increased trend, globally. Currently, the United States (US) faces the most serious situation related to fentanyl overdose, commonly referred to as the opioid epidemic. Nowadays, fentanyl is considered as the number one cause of death for adults aged 18-45 in the US. Synthesis and derivatization of fentanyl is inexpensive to manufacture and easily achievable...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Methamphetamine (METH) use disorder has risen dramatically over the past decade, and there are currently no FDA-approved medications due, in part, to gaps in our understanding of the pharmacological mechanisms related to METH action in the brain. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: Here, we investigated whether transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) mediates each of several METH abuse-related behaviours in rodents: self-administration, drug-primed reinstatement, acquisition of conditioned place preference, and hyperlocomotion...

OBJECTIVE: The PN Naloxone Nasal Swab (Pocket Naloxone Corp., Bethesda, MD) is a swab optimized for drug delivery and intended for use by non-medical personnel for the emergency treatment of opioid overdose. The aim of this study (PNC-20-003) is to determine the safety of this nasal swab in a real-world environment. METHODS: This was a single-institution, quantitative-qualitative prospective trial performed at an outpatient clinic. Patients with normal or abnormal nasal structure were recruited...

Prenatal drug exposure is a public health problem, which results in profound behavioral problems during childhood and adolescence, mainly represented by an increase in the risk of cocaine abuse at an early age. In rodents, prenatal and postnatal cocaine exposure enhanced locomotor activity and cocaine- or nicotine-induced locomotor sensitization. Various authors consider that the adverse emotional states (anxiety and depression) that occur during cocaine withdrawal are the main factors that precipitate, relapse, and increase chronic cocaine abuse, which could increase the risk of relapse of cocaine abuse...

Optimizing blood culture processing is important to ensure bloodstream infections are accurately diagnosed while minimizing adverse events caused by antibiotic abuse. We evaluated the impact of optimized blood culture processes on antibiotic use, clinical outcomes and economics in intensive care unit (ICU) patients with positive blood cultures. From March 2020 to October 2021, our microbiology laboratory implemented a series of improvement measures, including the clinical utility of Fastidious Antimicrobial Neutralization (FAN® PLUS) bottles for the BacT/Alert Virtuo blood culture system, optimization of bottles reception, graded reports and an upgraded Laboratory Information System...

Neonatal brain inflammation produced by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) results in long-lasting brain dopaminergic injury and motor disturbances in adult rats. The goal of the present work is to investigate the effect of neonatal systemic LPS exposure (1 or 2 mg/kg, i.p. injection in postnatal day 5, P5, male rats)-induced dopaminergic injury to examine methamphetamine (METH)-induced behavioral sensitization as an indicator of drug addiction. On P70, subjects underwent a treatment schedule of 5 once daily subcutaneous (s...

BACKGROUND: There is evidence linking use of controlled substances with perpetration of interpersonal violence. While the United States constitution protects the right to own a firearm, federal law prohibits firearm purchase and possession by persons believed to be at high risk for violence, including those who use controlled substances unlawfully. METHODS: We report here the results of a 13-year prospective observational study on the risk of violent crime associated with a history of criminal drug charges in a cohort of 79,678 legal purchasers of handguns in California in 2001...

SARS-CoV-2 pandemic affected lifestyle habits, and the mental health and wellbeing of people around the world. In this manuscript, two towns (Paulton and Radstock) and two cities (Bath and Bristol) in Southwest England (> 1 million people) were monitored for two years using Wastewater-Based Epidemiology to assess impacts of COVID (including management measures such as lockdowns and movement restrictions) on community lifestyle choices: illicit drugs, legal stimulants, abused pharmaceuticals and pain pharma usage...

Background: Peer recovery specialists (PRSs) are substance use service providers with lived experience in recovery. Although a large body of research demonstrates the efficacy of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), emerging research suggests PRSs' attitudes toward MOUD are ambivalent or mixed. Few studies have quantitatively assessed factors influencing PRSs' attitudes. Objectives: This study identifies personal and professional characteristics associated with attitudes toward MOUD among PRSs. Methods: PRSs working at publicly funded agencies in Michigan completed a self-administered web-based survey ( N  = 266, 60...

Background: Cannabis use is increasing among middle-aged and older US adults, populations that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of cannabis. Risks for adverse effects differ by cannabis use patterns, which have become increasingly heterogeneous. Nevertheless, little is known about age differences in such patterns. Objective: To investigate age differences in cannabis use patterns, comparing younger (age 18-49), middle-aged (age 50-64), and older adults (age ≥65). Methods: A total of 4,151 US adults with past 7-day cannabis consumption completed an online survey (35...

BACKGROUND: Various anti-parasitic drugs are used to control donkey parasitic diseases. The abuse of donkey drugs leads to the disposition of residues in the edible parts of treated donkeys. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to (1) analyse the pharmacokinetics of ABZSO to serve as reference for the dosage regimen in donkey; and (2) calculate the withdrawal times of the ABZSO in the tissue of the donkey. METHODS: The concentrations of ABZSO and its metabolites in plasma and tissues were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography with an ultraviolet detector...

Introduction Understanding the different opioid pain relief requirements between patients with upper limb fractures can be useful in forming specific evidence-based guidelines and balancing patient-clinician prescribing discussions with opioid stewardship. We investigated the predictors for opioid requirements in upper limb fractures. Methods We retrospectively investigated all upper limb fractures from the shoulder to the wrist treated at a major trauma center from January 2015 to January 2022. The data collected consisted of fracture location, demographics, comorbidities, and management options...

Endocarditis refers to infection or inflammation of the endocardium, and various pathogens can be involved in infective endocarditis (IE). Endocarditis is usually caused by bacteremia in patients with risk factors, including IV drug abuse, indwelling central venous or urinary catheters, recent dental infections, and implantable cardiac devices. Pseudomonas aeruginosa ( P. aeruginosa ) is an extremely rare causative organism in IE, predominantly among IV drug users and involving right-sided valves. Left-sided native valve P...

We describe a case of an Asian-Indian female patient who presented to us with abnormal fat accumulations in the torso and upper arms following indiscriminate use of corticosteroid and anabolic steroids for about 7 years. Despite prolonged steroid use, the patient did not display cushingoid phenotype or metabolic decompensation. Bone density, echocardiography, and ultrasonogram of the liver were also normal with no evidence of excess pericardial fat, hepatic steatosis, or peliosis hepatis. Concurrent use of anabolic androgen is thought to be protective against the ill effects of steroids, especially on the muscle and bone...

The abuse and overuse of antibiotics let drug-resistant bacteria emerges. Antibacterial photodynamic therapy (APDT) has shown outstanding merits to eliminate the drug-resistant bacteria via cytotoxic reactive oxygen species produced by irradiating photosensitizer. However, most of photosensitizers are not effective for Gram-negative bacteria elimination. Herein conjugates of NBS, a photosensitizer, linked with one (NBS-DPA-Zn) or two (NBS-2DPA-Zn) equivalents of zinc-dipicolylamine (Zn-DPA) have been designed to achieve the functional recognition of different bacteria...

BACKGROUND: Effective financing mechanisms are essential to ensuring that people can access and utilize effective treatments and services. Financing mechanisms are needed not only to pay for the delivery of those treatments and services, but also ancillary costs, while also keeping care affordable. AIMS: This article highlights key areas of the interest of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in supporting applied health economics and health care financing research...