1,720,998 research outputs found
ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS IN THE VACCINE PHARMACOTHERAPY TO TREAT AND PREVENT DRUG OF ABUSE DEPENDENCE
No full textDifferent immunotherapeutic approaches are under development to the treatment of drug dependence. "Drug vaccines" aim to induce the immune system to produce antibodies that bind to drugs and prevent them from induce rewarding effects in the brain.
The drugs of abuse currently being tested using this new approach are nicotine, cocaine, phencyclidine and methamphetamine. In laboratory animal models, a range of immunotherapy, including vaccines, monoclonal antibodies and catalytic antibodies, have reduced the drug seeking. In human clinical trials, "cocaine and nicotine vaccines" have been shown to induce sufficient antibody levels while producing few side effects. Studies in humans determining how these vaccines interact in combination with their target drug are underway.
Nevertheless, although vaccines against drugs of abuse may become a viable treatment option, there are several drawbacks that need to be considered. These include a lack of protection against a structurally dissimilar drug that produces the same effects as the drug of choice; a lack of an effect on drug craving that predisposes an addict to relapse and a wide individual variability in antibody formation.
Overall, immunotherapy offers a range of potential treatment options: drug treatment, as well as the treatment of overdose, prevention of brain or cardiac toxicity and fetal protection in pregnant drug abusers. Nevertheless the results obtained by a small-scale trials, using vaccines against cocaine and nicotine, suggest that a number of major technical challenges need to be overcome before that vaccines can be approved for clinical use
Utilità della matrice cheratinica nella diagnosi differenziale tra uso/non uso di farmaci e sostanze illecite
No full textClinical and forensic diagnosis of very recent Heroin intake by 6-acetylmorphine immunoassay test and LC-MS/MS analysis in Urine and Blood
Full text linkAim. The study evaluates the suitability of a specific immunoassay screening test for 6-acetylmorphine
(6-AM) in the setting of suspected very recent heroin consumption for forensic and clinical purposes.
Material and method. The EMIT® II Plus 6-AM immunoassay was applied in 65 cases that had already tested positive for morphine in urine or blood. Biological samples (n.65 urine and n.53 blood) were obtained
from workplace drug tests (WDT n. 5), tests for driving under the influence of drugs (DUID n. 30), vehicle accidents (n. 10), overdoses (n. 12) and heroin-related deaths (n. 8) cases. The 6-AM screening assay results were confirmed with the LC-MS/MS analysis in relation to the cut-off set at 10 ng/mL for both urine and blood. Results. Among the 65 urine samples (all morphine-positive), 38 samples were 6-AM-positive and 27 were 6-AM-negative with 100% agreement between the positive/negative results of the two assays. Among the 53 blood samples (34 positive and 19 negative for the morphine), 16 were 6-AM positive and 37 were negative. Only one of the blood samples, positive for 6-AM by LC-MS/MS at 10.3 ng/mL, was negative by the immunoassay test. Based on the concordance between the results of the 6-AM immunoassay
versus the LC-MS/MS, the sensitivity of the 6-AM assay was calculated as 100% and 95% for urine and blood respectively, with a specificity and accuracy of 100% for both biological samples. In addition, the study demonstrated that the 6-AM assay test, originally developed for urine, is also sufficiently sensitive
to identify 6-AM in blood. Therefore, it could be applied in cases of vehicle accidents or overdose to distinguish rapidly between very recent heroin use and the intake of other opiates for therapeutic purposes
Spatial variability of microbial processes involved in N transformations in a Mediterranean maquis ecosystem
No full textDisaggregated Estimation of N2O Fluxes from Agricultural Soils of the Italian Region by Modelization in GIS Environment
No full textPrima identificazione in Italia del cannabinoide sintetico AM-694 quale “additivo” in un sequestro di Cannabis da fibra
Full text linkLa recente diffusione delle droghe sintetiche attraverso il web ha fatto emergere il fenomeno dell’uso dei cannabinoidi
di sintesi. Tali molecole, molto numerose e con struttura chimica differenziata, spesso sono presenti in piccola concentrazione in preparati eterogenei cosiddetti “naturali” (soluzioni, miscugli di erbe, polveri, profumatori
di ambiente, etc.) ma non sono identificabili mediante i test di routine applicati per il rilevo del Δ9THC e dei relativi metaboliti. Nel presente studio vengono riportate le metodologie analitiche adottate per l’identificazione quali-quantitativa in GC/MS ed LC-MS/MS dell’AM-694 [1-[(5-fluoropentyl)-1H-indol-3-yl]-(2-iodophenyl)methanone]
sequestrato, sotto forma di polvere, in un laboratorio clandestino, contestualmente a circa 59 Kg di foglie di Cannabis da fibra, contenuti in sacchi ed in piccole confezioni già termo sigillate.
Le indagini applicate sul materiale vegetale in sequestro hanno dimostrato che l’AM-694, al momento del sequestro non ancora tabellato in Italia come stupefacente, risultava presente come “additivo” solo nelle piccole confezioni già predisposte per lo spaccio, in concentrazione media dell’1,8%. Tale rilievo, risalente all’Agosto 2010, è stato comunicato al Sistema Nazionale di Allerta Precoce del Dipartimento Politiche Antidroga, come prima segnalazione
in Italia di sequestro di AM-694, sia allo stato puro che presente in preparati vegetali destinati al mercato clandestino.
A seguito di questa e di altre segnalazioni, tale principio attivo nel Dicembre 2011, è stato incluso nella Tabella I del DPR 309/9
Comparison of risk based on laboratory benchmark value of effect with field-based hazard quotient ratio for soil microbial endpoints
No full textImpact of heavy metal pollution on microbial processes involved in soil N transformations
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