[Comparative analysis of amphetamine identification by immunoenzyme assay and gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection].

The objective of this study was to simultaneously identify amphetamine in biological materials by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (GH/MS) for the verification of diagnostic value of the proposed ELISA technique. Urine samples from suspected amphetamine and related drug users were available for analysis. It is concluded that the new modification of ELISA can be recommended for application in narcological practice and for the purpose of forensic medical examination.

[The evaluation of narcological care effectiveness].

The problem of community narcotization, the increase of number of individuals using drugs and other psychic active substances, the shortening of remittance duration of the narcological patients, the increase of the lethal outcomes numbers in patients with various dependencies because of general somatic complications of main disease, the increase of numbers of women involved into drug dependency problems, call for searching new progressive technologies in narcological care management, including the new approaches in the assessment of the effectiveness of implementing activities. The multifactorial analysis application as a methodological evaluation tool is quite relevant nowadays.

[Brain bioelectrical activities in heroin addicts during early abstinence period]. / Bioélektricheskaia aktivnist' mozga u bol'nykh geroinovoi narkomaniei v rannie sroki abstinentsii.

Standard 19-channel EEG registration was performed in 30 heroin addicts (mean age 21.7 +/- 2.8 years, daily heroin abusing duration--12.2 +/- 8.0 months, heroin dose per day--0.42 +/- 0.29 g, abstinence duration--12.3 +/- 8.1 days). Qualitative EEG changes, being observed in more than 70% of the cases, included low voltage of background activity with depression of alpha rhythm and increase in beta activity; large amount of low amplitude waves in central regions; low reactivity to stimulation. The patients with daily heroin doses more than 0.5 g demonstrated slowing of alpha rhythm in comparison to those with lower doses (8.9 +/- 0.8 Hz vs 10.3 +/- 2.0 Hz, p < 0.05). In follow-up study, obvious or even complete normalization of the EEG was observed in most of the cases during the first months of abstinence.

[Neurological disturbances in heroin addicts in acute withdrawal and early post-abstinence periods]. / Nevrologicheskie narusheniia u bol'nykh geroinovoi narkomaniei pri ostroi abstinentsii i v rannem postabstinentnom periode.

Neurological examination was performed in 79 heroin addicts (mean age 24.4 +/- 6.3 years; heroin abusing duration 16.6 +/- 12.4 months; heroin dose per day 0.48 +/- 0.42 grams). During the first week after withdrawal, "physical dependency" symptoms, mild hypomimia and hypokinesia, low muscle tone, low tendon reflexes and facilitated nociceptive reflexes were observed in more than 70% of the patients. Non-specific microneurological signs as nystagm, limited convergence, tremor and dynamic ataxia etc, were found in more than 35% of the cases. Previously reported meningeal irritation or polyneuropathy symptoms were not determined in the patients population. Most of the symptoms disappeared after 10 days of abstinence as the follow-up examination of the 34 patients revealed. Mild hypomimia and hypokinesia persisted along with characteristic psychopathological changes. The most abundant neurological disturbances were observed in patients abusing heroin for more than 6 months in dosages more than 0.4 grams per day. Heroin withdrawal symptoms include reversible decrease in muscle tone and tendon reflexes as well as facilitation of nociceptive reflexes and reversible non-specific neurological microsigns. Heroin encephalopathy is characterized by ventral striatum insufficiency signs.

[Premorbid psychological status in heroin abusers: impact of treatment compliance]. / Vliianie premorbidnogo psikhologicheskogo statusa zloupotrebliaiushchikh geroinom lits na ikh otnoshenie k lecheniiu.

UNLABELLED: Heroin abusers who performed two "prefrontal" psychological tests (WCST and Delayed Alternation test--DIAT) with unusual amount of perseverative responses, reached i.v. doses of 0.5-1.0 g of heroin per day during the first year of heroin intake and continued out-patient treatment after discharge from hospital. Patients with "ideal" performance on two tests injected 0.1-0.3 g of heroin per day during the first year of heroin intake and stopped treatment after discharge, sometimes returned for treatment after several months of remission because of relapse. The latter patient group had lower verbal intelligence in comparison with education-matched normal controls. Percent of normal controls who made unusually many perseverative responses on WCST was the same as in the patient group (chi 2 = 5.5, p = 0.24). CONCLUSIONS: a) Performance of WCST and partially DAT can characterise of premorbid psychological status in heroin abusers; b) premorbid dysfunction of prefrontal cortex that mediates perseverative responses to WCST and DAT may contribute to drug abusing severity; c) low verbal intelligence may poorly influence treatment compliance in heroin abusers.

[Chemiluminescent immunoenzyme method for determining gidazepam]. / Khemiliuminestsentnyi immunofermentnyi metod opredeleniia gidazepama.

Competitive solid-phase enzyme immunoassay of gidasepam (a benzodiazepine) in the urine with chemiluminescent detection has been developed. The sensitivity of analysis for gidasepam is 10 ng/ml. Comparative measurements of benzodiazepines in the urine of patients abusing these agents by polarization fluorescence and the proposed method showed good coincidence of the results. The results demonstrate the possibility of using this method in medicine and narcology in combination with other instrumental methods.

[Neuropsychological deficit in chronic heroin abusers]. / Neiropsikhologicheskii defitsit pri khronicheskoi narkotizatsii geroinom.

Neurological consequences of chronic heroin exposure are poorly known. 38 male patients with current heroin abuse or dependence were examined in withdrawal period that lasted more than 10 days, and were compared with 19 healthy controls. Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), "Delayed Alternation" Test (DAT), "Tower of London" Test (TLT), Russian version of WAIS (1995) were used. Patients were medicated and medication status was evaluated by psychomotor speed level. Patients with the duration of daily heroin abuse more than 1.5 years performed significantly less effectively TLT solutions as compared with the healthy controls (after Bonferroni correction, p = 0001). Patients with shorter duration of daily heroin abuse had a trend to perform TLT solutions poorer as compared to healthy controls and better than group with longer duration (after Bonferroni correction, p = 0.07 and 0.08). Three groups did not differ by WCST and DAT significantly, and general intelligence was in normal range in three groups. Multiple regression analysis confirmed significant influence of daily heroin abuse duration on TLT performance efficiency in our population (beta = -0.426, p < 0.05) without effect of age, education, IQ, dosage of heroin per day, withdrawal duration and current medication status (psychomotor speed level). Perseverative responses on DAT were significantly related to daily heroin dosages before treatment (beta = 0.405, p < 0.05) and negatively correlated with the withdrawal duration. These data give grounds to suppose, that chronic heroin exposure impairs planning functions of prefrontal cortex (TLT), that can be explained by cumulative neuronal damages of prefrontal cortex and VTA dopamine neurons. That was demonstrated in experimental and morphological studies of opiate addicts who died after opiate overdose. Large doses of heroin can induce more extensive functional impairment with possible involvement of orbit frontal cortex. The latter deficit may be partially reversible during short-term withdrawal.

[Immunoglobulins, binding opioid peptides, biogenic amines, and opiates, in substance abusers]. / Immunoglobuliny, sviazyvaiushchie opiodnye peptidy, biogennye aminy i opiaty, u bol'nykh narkomanie.

Immunoglobulins binding morphine, biogenic amines, and an opioid peptide dermorphine were measured by solid-phase enzyme immunoassay in patients abusing narcotics. The patients' ages varied from 20 to 40, with the duration of narcotic use 1-17 years. Narcotic dependence was found to involve increased production of immunoglobulins binding opioid and monoamine neuromediators. Enzyme immunoassay of antibodies to opiates detects latent forms of narcomania in cases when the narcotic is not present in the body. These results serve the basis for creating a new method for analysis of narcotic abuse and evaluation of the duration of their use, which can be used in practical medicine and in forensic medical expert evaluations.

[The risk factors for the transmission of HIV infection among intravenous narcotic users in Russia]. / Faktory riska peredachi VICh-infektsii sredi upotrebliaiushchikh vnutrivenno narkotiki v Rossii.

Blood sera (316,281 specimens) from registered drug and toxic substance addicts were examined revealing no subjects seropositive to HIV. A special epidemiological questionnaire was developed and used for questioning of 86 drug addicts using drugs prepared domestically by the intravenous route. The group included 56 men and 30 women varying in age from 17 to 33 years. Lack of registered cases of HIV infection among drug addicts in Russia was explained by some peculiar features of using drugs. Intravenous inoculation of drugs with the same syringe and needle without sterilization, and large numbers of sexual contacts without the use of condoms suggest that as soon as HIV gets into this environment it will spread very rapidly.

[Clinico-epidemiologic characteristics of deviant behavior of adolescents]. / Kliniko-épidemiologicheskaia kharakteristika deviantnogo povedeniia u podrostkov.

The relative incidence of pathological forms of deviant behavior (PFDB) was assessed in adolescents undergoing professional training (320), on last years of secondary school education (291), in those registered in regional adolescent legal inspection wards (62), and in psychoneurological outpatients (409). The nosological preference of different forms of PFDB was established with sexual dimorphism in deviant and delinquent behaviors in the groups under investigation. Deviant behavior polymorphism did not depend on the nosological nature of the disorders.