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PubMed1979

Influence of opium availability on addiction rates in Laos.

Crude rates of opium addiction were determined in 1972-1974 in ten communities of Laos, representing eight different ethnic groups and three provinces. In six rural communities, data were obtained by a house-to-house survey, and in four urban communities by opium den registration. Communities raising opium poppy as a cash crop had highest crude rates of addiction (7.0-9.8 addicts per 100 people). Thos involved in opium commerce had intermediate rates (4.1-5.5). Where neither opium production nor commerce was present, the communities had the lowest rates of addiction (1.8-2.3).

Agriculture↗
PubMed1980

Dilemmas of Iran's opium maintenance program: an action research for evaluating goal conflicts and policy changes.

Much of evaluative research in the drug abuse field to date has centered on the outcome comparison of different treatment and rehabilitation modalities. Consequently, despite avowed interest in policy research by the students of drug abuse to a great extent and, in part, due to lack of research opportunities, there have not been many action-oriented evaluative policy researches even in the industrially advanced countries. On the other hand, the piecemeal accumulation of information through numerous ad hoc drug-related research activities has signaled the need for more integrated research activities on a comprehensive scale, embracing both the demand and supply dimensions of drug abuse. In the absence of substantive inputs from drug policy research, there is a real danger than the call for comprehensive approaches may once again, by default, neglect the crucial dimension of macro policy. This paper presents the findings of an action research design for evaluation of Iran's opium maintenance program. As such, the paper's primary focus is on the impact of unintended and unanticipated consequences of Iran's opium maintenance program upon treatment and rehabilitation efforts for the drug addicts. The findings here are based on a two-wave study. The first wave was carried out in the early summer of 1976. The major conclusions of the first wave suggested the need for fundamental revisions in both the eligibility requirements for and the the distribution system of opium coupons to those who legally received opium, the registered addicts. The findings of this study convinced the government to initiate a number of changes in the eligibility requirements. In addition, the authors were given the responsibility to design a new system of opium distribution for registered addicts. The second wave of the study was conducted in the spring of 1977, some 6 months after the policy revisions, in order to monitor their effects.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

The rules of drug taking: wine and poppy derivatives in the Ancient World. VIII. Lack of evidence of opium addiction.

The widespread therapeutic use of opium and its probable ritual use is faced with the absence of any explicit description of cases of opium dependence. It is possible that this was due to a lack of diagnostic capability. However, even the attempt to uncover cases of opium dependence by systematically analyzing the literary passages in which poppies, opium, and meconium are quoted are unsuccessful. The only two cases of suspected opium addiction that can be selected in this way are those of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Ovid. The most parsimonious interpretation is the lack of an hedonic use of poppy derivatives, being that this kind of use is the most frequently connected with the development of addiction.

Ancient Lands↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Hill tribe opium addicts: a retrospective study of 1,382 patients.

This paper presents the results of a retrospective study of 1,382 patients admitted to the Narcotics Treatment Centre for Hill Tribes in Thailand, which was operated by the WHO/UN/Thai Programme for Drug Abuse Control. The study revealed widespread opium addiction among the hill tribes. Of these, the Karen were the largest group. Mean age on admission for treatment was 35 years. The male:female ratio was 7:1. Sixty-six per cent were heads of households. About one-third came from households with more than one addict. The mean duration of daily opium use before admission was 7.9 years. Over 90% of them were addicted to opium; there were eight heroin users. The mean amount of opium used daily was 3.9 g for males and 3.2 g for females. About three-quarters of them used salicylate analgesics with opium. Illness, in particular abdominal pain, was the most frequent cause of their addiction.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Patterns and prevalence of opium use in rural Punjab (India).

A household survey of opium use was carried out in three district of Punjab. Of the 1,400 randomly selected households, 1,276 were covered by the study. All members above the age of 15 years were individually interviewed. The survey included 2,064 men and 1,536 women. The percentage prevalence rate of opium use was 5.76, much higher among men than women. Because of the small number of women involved in opium use (0.5 per cent), the data on socio-demographic variables were analysed only for men. The male opium users were classified as past, experimental, regular and seasonal users, with 3.4, 0.8, 3.6 and 1.8 percentage prevalence rates respectively. The relationships between opium use and variables such as age, occupation, religion, education, marital status and per capita income are discussed as well as their implication on drug abuse control policy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Differentiation and comparison of raw, prepared and dross opium.

Comparative studies involving colour tests, thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) were made on raw, prepared and dross opium with a view to establishing means for their differentiation. Analysis of a large number of samples found in south-east Asia showed the typical patterns and results to be quite distinctive in the qualitative and quantitative aspects. The relative proportions of the major alkaloids in the two chromatographic systems were used to advantage in the comparison. Prepared opium was found to have a characteristic yellow fluorescent spot on the TLC plate when viewed under long-wavelength ultraviolet light. No positive marker was found for dross opium, its unusual features being the relatively high morphine and codeine content and the absence of narcotine, meconic acid and especially thebaine. Most of the prepared opium samples were found to have been made from a mixture of raw and dross opium. The modified hallucinogen reagent of Maunder was found to be a suitable alternative chromogenic spray in the TLC analysis.

Asia, Southeastern↗
PubMed1996

Increased risk of tuberculosis in opium addicts.

In rural areas of desert of western Rajasthan crude opium is consumed with a social sanction by a notable proportion (7.1%) of adult males. It is believed that prevalence of opium addiction is high in TB cases as they may use it to suppress cough. Prevalence of opium addiction among TB cases from rural desert (16.1%) was compared with that in general population (7.1%) and the difference was found significant (X2 = 11.6, p > 0.001). The difference became a little more prominent after age adjustment. A case control analysis of matched pairs showed significant association between opium addiction and pulmonary tuberculosis (Odd's ratio = 2.61 and attributable risk = 0.099). Results were consistent in different age and ethnic groups. In cases with opium addiction, the addiction always preceded the pulmonary tuberculosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Opium revisited: a brief review of its nature, composition, non-medical use and relative risks.

Unlike the pure opioids such as morphine and heroin, opium is a complex and variable mixture of substances reflecting differences in both the starting material and the traditional practices of the regions in which it is produced. Analytical methods have improved greatly in recent years, to the point that the source of a preparation can often be identified by its opioid content and its impurities. Daily amounts used, both by smoking and by mouth, vary widely from less than a gram to 30 g, equivalent to 75-3000 mg of morphine. The effects of opium are essentially those of morphine but unexpected toxicities, such as oesophageal cancer associated with "dross opium" and polyneuropathy due to deliberate addition of arsenic, are problems in some specific regions. Prevalence of use in different areas and countries is governed by the same factors of ease of availability, price and social acceptance that apply to the use of alcohol and other drugs in western countries. The risk of addiction to opium smoking appears to be somewhat less than to parenteral use of heroin, but appreciably greater than to alcohol. Even in countries where its use is traditional, opium smoking carries substantial risks of harm to health and social functioning.

Humans↗
PubMed2004

[Association study of NcoI and TaqI A dopamine receptor D2 gene polymorphism in opium addicts].

The N2/N2 (NcoI) genotype of DRD2 gene is shown to be a marker of resistance to opium addiction, the N1/N1 genotype being considered as a risk marker for the disorder. The N1 allele was associated with opium addiction in Russian patients aged 16 years and younger at drug using onset. In Tatars, an association was found between the N1 allele and a risk of opium addiction development over 16 years of age. The N2/N2 genotype proved to be a marker of resistance to opium addiction in Tatars over 16 years of age at drug using onset. No association was found between TaqI A DRD2 polymorphism and opium addiction in the Russians and the Tatars.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Association between the DRD2 A1 allele and opium addiction in the Iranian population.

Dysfunction of the central dopaminergic neurotransmission has been suggested to play an important role in the etiology of certain neuropsychiatric disorders such as drug abuse. It has been shown that the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) gene dysfunction is associated with multi-drug addiction. Addiction to opium is the most common form of drug abuse in Iran. We studied the allelic association between DRD2 Taq I A polymorphism in 100 opium-dependent Iranian patients and 130 unrelated controls. A 310 bp (base pair) region surrounding Taq I site at the DRD2 locus was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the PCR product was incubated with Taq I restriction enzyme. The A1 allele remained intact while the A2 allele was cut. Significant association was observed between A1 allele and addiction in the patients group (P < 0.0001). Moreover, the frequency of A1A1 genotype was significantly higher in opium users than controls (P < 0.0001). Our result indicates that DRD2 might be involved in the pathophysiology of opium addiction.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Was opium known in 18th dynasty ancient Egypt? An examination of materials from the tomb of the chief royal architect Kha.

Examination by microscopy, thin-layer chromatography, gas-liquid chromatography alone and combined with mass spectrometry, and radioimmunoassay methods of materials from the tomb of the ancient Egyptian chief royal architect Kha, who is believed to have died about 1405 BC, has shown that there is no morphine--and hence no opium--present. This finding casts doubt on the results of an earlier analysis. Tropane alkaloids are likewise absent. The significance of the present findings for the history of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum L., in the eastern Mediterranean region is discussed. Evidence (chemical, botanical, artefactual, and linguistic) for the supposed presence of the opium poppy and opium in Egypt in the Late Bronze Age is briefly reviewed. These considerations and the negative outcome of the present analyses mean that the earlier reported finding can no longer be accepted as evidence.

Egypt, Ancient↗
PubMed2005

Honeybees foraging response in genetically diversified opium poppy.

Studies were carried out on honeybees foraging on plant flowers. Results showed significantly higher foraging response of honeybees (Apis mellifera) in genetically divergent narcotic plant opium poppy (Papaver somniferum). Of the 18 mutants and two locally adapted cultivars of diverse genotypes screened, eight revealed significantly greater foraging response manifesting honeybee's preference towards specific plant morphotypes. The number of flower bloom did not correspond to number of foraging bees in both mutant and cultivar plant types of opium poppy. The genotype specific foraging response of honeybees could be attributed to physico-chemical properties of opium poppy flowers. This could have implications for the development of opium alkaloid fortified honeys for novel pharmaceuticals and isolation of natural spray compounds to attract honeybee pollinators for promoting crossing and sustainable hybridity in crops.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Effects of opium addiction on some serum factors in addicts with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of opium on biochemical parameters in addicts with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Twenty-three males and 26 females between 35 and 65 years of age, with NIDDM, addicted to opium, were selected as the case group. Twenty-three males and 26 females with NIDDM and no opium addiction served as controls. Fasting glucose, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), total cholesterol, high density lipoproteins-cholesterol (HDL-c), triglycerides (TGs), sodium (Na(+)), potassium (K(+)), calcium (Ca(2+)), iron (Fe(2+)), total iron binding capacity (TIBC), serum total protein, albumin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), uric acid and urea were measured in the serum of the two groups. Serum protein electrophoresis was also carried out. Compared to the control group, in addicted males with NIDDM, HbA1c, K(+) and Fe(2+) were higher, and serum total protein, ALT and HDL-c were lower. No significant difference was observed between other factors. Albumin was lower in addicts, but no significant difference was observed between the albumin/globulin ratios. In addicted females with NIDDM, serum total protein, TIBC, ALT and AST were lower compared to non-addicts. Cholesterol tends to be lower in diabetic addicted males, HbA1c in addicted females and uric acid in addicted males was higher compared to non-addicted diabetics. Their differences, however, were not significant. According to our results, smoking opium increases serum glucose and decreases HDL-c, and thus adds to metabolic disorders in NIDDM patients. It also increases potassium and Fe(2) in males and decreases TIBC in females, and could therefore potentially interfere with water and iron metabolism.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Substituted hydroxyphenanthrenes in opium pyrolysates implicated in oesophageal cancer in Iran: structures and in vitro metabolic activation of a novel class of mutagens.

Previous epidemiological and laboratory studies have indicated an association between the ingestion of opium pyrolysates, dietary deficiencies and the high incidence of oesophageal cancer in subjects in north-east Iran. Pyrolysates of opium, and particularly of morphine, a major opium alkaloid, were both shown to contain similar highly mutagenic substances that were also clastogenic in mammalian cells and which transformed hamster embryo cells in culture. We now report the isolation and characterization of nine of the most abundant mutagenic compounds present in morphine pyrolysates, using h.p.l.c, GC-MS and n.m.r. spectroscopy. The hitherto unknown compounds, all containing a hydroxyphenanthrene moiety, were identified as: I, 3-methyl-3H-naphth[1,2-e]indol-10-ol; II, 1,2-dihydro-3-methyl-3H-naphth[1,2-e]indol-10-ol; III, 1-methyl-1H-naphth[2,1-g]indol-10-ol; IV, 2-methylphenanthro[3,4-d]-[1,3]oxazol-10-ol; V, 6-methylaminophenanthren-3-ol; VI, 2-methyl-3H-phenanthro[3,4-d]imidazol-10-ol; VII, 1,2-dimethyl-1H-phenanthro[3,4-d]imidazol-10-ol; VIII, 2,5-dimethyl-3H-phenanthro[3,4-d]imidazol-10-ol; and IX, 2-ethyl-3H-phenanthro[3,4-d]imidazol-10-ol. Structures for the heterocyclic rings of compounds IV and VI to IX are tentative. Mutagenicity in Salmonella typhimurium TA98 in the presence of rat liver homogenates increased in the order listed and ranged over four orders of magnitude, IX being 1000 times more active than benzo[a]pyrene. Compounds I and VII were converted by rat liver 9000 g supernatant into phenols and dihydrodiols, implicating arene oxides as ultimate mutagens. The formation and reaction of these arene oxides was shown by trapping experiments in vitro with ethanethiol and subsequent characterization of the ethyl sulfide reaction products. The order of biological activity of compounds I-IX, dependent on the structure of the heterocyclic ring, suggests that carbocations, resonance-stabilized as quinone methides, are their ultimate reactive metabolites. Our results lend additional support to the role of opium pyrolysates as an etiological factor in oesophageal cancer in north-east Iran.

Biotransformation↗
PubMed2006

Did J. Marion Sims deliberately addict his first fistula patients to opium?

American surgeon J. Marion Sims (1813-83) is regarded by many modern authors as a controversial figure because he carried out a series of experimental surgeries on enslaved African American women between 1846 and 1849 in an attempt to cure them of vesicovaginal fistulas, which they had all developed as a result of prolonged obstructed labor. He operated on one woman, Anarcha Westcott, thirty times before he successfully closed her fistula. Sims performed these fistula repair operations without benefit of anesthesia but gave these women substantial doses of opium afterwards. Several modern writers have alleged that Sims did this in order to addict them to the drug and thereby to enhance his control over them. This article examines the controversy surrounding Sims' use of postoperative opium in these enslaved surgical patients. The evidence suggests that although these women were probably tolerant to the doses of opium that he used, there is no evidence that he deliberately tried to addict them to this drug. Sims' use of postoperative opium appears to have been well supported by the therapeutic practices of his day, and the regimen that he used was enthusiastically supported by many contemporary surgeons.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1984

Cytotoxicity of leukocytes from normal and Shigella-susceptible (opium-treated) guinea pigs against virulent Shigella sonnei.

Intraepithelial lymphocytes were collected from the ileum of adult Hartley strain guinea pigs and used as effector cells in a 60-min bactericidal assay with virulent Shigella sonnei as target cells. Natural killer cytotoxicity (NKC) and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) were measured and correlated with the resistance of the animals to infection by S. sonnei. Normal guinea pig intraepithelial lymphocytes exhibited mean NKC and ADCC values of 22.8 +/- 5.0 and 34.1 +/- 13.6, respectively. These animals were resistant to oral challenge with virulent S. sonnei. Intraepithelial lymphocytes from guinea pigs which were fasted for 4 days demonstrated NKC and ADCC values similar to those of normal animals (31.0 +/- 8.1 and 41.7 +/- 6.7, respectively). These animals also were resistant to oral challenge. Intraepithelial lymphocytes from guinea pigs which were given 1 ml of deodorized tincture of opium 2 h before cell collection demonstrated deficient NKC (4.7 +/- 4.2) and ADCC (5.3 +/- 4.9) values but remained resistant to infection by S. sonnei. When guinea pigs were fasted for 4 days and given opium, deficient NKC (2.0 +/- 2.0) and ADCC (1.3 +/- 1.3) values were demonstrated; this group of animals was susceptible to infection by S. sonnei (P less than 0.04). These experiments demonstrated that opium treatment depresses one form of gut immunity. When combined with starvation, opium treatment may increase susceptibility to infection by shigellae by modulation of immunity in addition to the effects on gut motility and bacterial flora.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Abdominal pain due to lead-contaminated opium: a new source of inorganic lead poisoning in Iran.

Although the incidence of occupational and adult lead poisoning has declined, the problem still exists. We encountered three patients with lead poisoning in Iran, all of whom associated with presented with diffuse abdominal pain, which was at times colicky in nature, anemia, constipation, nausea, vomiting, and slightly abnormal liver biochemistries. A history of opium ingestion was present in each of these patients. None of the patients reported known occupational exposure to toxins. Diagnoses of lead poisoning were confirmed through the detection of elevated blood lead levels. The cause of lead poisoning was attributed to the ingestion of contaminated opium. Opium adulterated with lead had not been previously recognized as a source of lead poisoning in Iran. It is, therefore, pointed out that lead poisoning should be considered as a differential diagnosis for acute abdominal colic of unclear cause in patients with opium addiction.

Abdominal Pain↗
PubMed1991

Opium addiction and cauliflower ears: a case report.

The case of an elderly Chinese male opium addict with cauliflower ears is discussed. He had no history of contact sports that could have led to auricular trauma resulting in deformed ears. Besides cauliflower ears, he had features of chronic bronchitis. The association between opium addiction and cauliflower ears was first described way back in 1932. It was attributed to the prolonged opium induced sleep on hard surface subjecting the ears to repeated pressure and trauma. With the changing pattern of drug abuse, opium abuse related cauliflower ears will become a vanishing sign.

Aged↗