A Follow-Up Study On Drug Addicts After Treatment And Rehabilitation.

This is a prospective six months follow up study on drug addicts after treatment and rehabilitation. The main concern is to find out during this critical period, whether the addicts were able to stay off drugs or fall back to drugs and what happened during the process

Report : "A Study Of The Misuse Of Drugs Among Secondary School Children In The State Of Penang And Selangor.

Drugs in a non-medical setting, used to alter mood, perception or consciousness are the topic of the present report: the report and the study upon which it is based reflect a widespread feeling in society that the use of such drugs is in itself a cause for concern, that the presumed increase in such use by young people heightens this concern~ but that response to drug usage which is ill informed is unlikely to achieve desirable ends

The use of Rapid Assessment Methodology to Compliment Existing National Assessment/Surveillance System : A Study among Injecting Drug Users in Kepala Batas, Penang, Malaysia

The study aims to show how data from a rapid assessment study can compliment data produced by the existing National Drug Information (NADI) system. Qualitative data gathering techniques was used and the WHO guide for conduction rapid assessment among injecting drug users was used as a guide. We used and inductive research strategy using the principles of triangulation. Results from the rapid assessment showed us how specific information provided by the rapid assessment include information about the use of heroin with other substances, the context in which risky injecting practices are being practiced (sharing injecting paraphernalia but not needles), the reasons for increase in frequency of injecting, the price of drugs, the types of injecting networks, context of sexual behavior, information regarding the health and social consequences of drug use are needed to understand the problem of substance abuse more effectively. We suggest the current NADI system need to include more socio-behavioral and health related variables in its database in order to understand particularly the substance abuse HIV/AIDS relationshi

Stability of the antimalarial drug dihydroartemisinin in under physiologically-relevant conditions : implications for clinical treatment, pharmacokinetic and in vitro assays

Artemisinins are peroxidic antimalarial drugs known to be very potent but chemically highly unstable; they degrade in the presence of ferrous iron, Fe(II)-heme or biological reductants. Less documented is how this translates into chemical stability and antimalarial activity across a range of conditions applying to in vitro testing and clinical situations. Dihydroartemisinin (DHA) is studied here because it is both an antimalarial drug on its own and the main metabolite of other artemisinins. The behavior of DHA in PBS, plasma or erythrocytes lysate at different temperatures and pH ranges was examined. The antimalarial activity of the residual drug was evaluated using the chemosensitivity assay on P. falciparum, and the extent of decomposition of DHA was established through use of HPLC-ECD analysis. The role of the Fe(II)-heme was investigated by blocking its reactivity using carbon monoxide. A significant reduction in the antimalarial activity of DHA was seen after incubation in plasma and to a lesser extent in erythrocytes lysate: activity was reduced by half after 3 hours and almost completely abolished after 24 hours. Serum-enriched media also affected DHA activity. Effects were temperature and pH-dependent and paralleled the increased rate of decomposition of DHA from pH 7 upwards and in plasma. These results suggest that particular care should be taken in conducting and interpreting in vitro studies, prone as they are to experimental and drug storage conditions. Disorders such as fever, hemolysis or acidosis associated with malaria severity may contribute to artemisinins instability and reduce their clinical efficacy

A novel technique to repair orbital roof defects: irradiated homologous cadaveric rib (Tutoplast ®) graft in a recurrent frontal sinus ossifying fibroma

Ossifying fibroma in the fronto-ethmoidal sinuses is a rare, benign condition. In symptomatic cases, surgical excision is often undertaken and bony defects may be repaired using alloplastic grafts. We present a novel method of repairing an orbital roof defect using irradiated homologous cadaveric rib (Tutoplast ®) graft, overlaid with a pericranial flap. The patient made an excellent recovery, concluding that it is a viable and safe option with lower morbidity

Does the presence of connective tissue disease modify survival in patients with pulmonary fibrosis?

SummaryObjectivesPrevious studies into the survival differences between individuals with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and those with connective tissue disease associated pulmonary fibrosis (CTD-PF) have yielded mixed results. The aim of this study is to compare the survival of individuals with CTD-PF to those with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis clinical syndrome (IPF-CS) using data derived from The Health Improvement network, a large primary care database in the UK.MethodsIncident cases of CTD-PF and IPF-CS between the years 2000–2009 were identified. Survival analysis was performed using Kaplan–Meier methods, stratified by type of connective tissue disease. Cox regression was then used to compare mortality rates between the groups, adjusting for age, gender and year of diagnosis.ResultsA total of 324 cases of CTD-PF and 2209 cases of IPF-CS were followed up over a mean period of 2.3 years. During this period, 113 (34.9%) cases of CTD-PF and 1073 (48.6%) cases of IPF-CS died. The mortality rates for cases with CTD-PF and IPF-CS were 123.6 per 1000 person years (95%CI: 102.8–148.9) and 229.8 per 1000 person years (95% CI: 216.4–244.0) respectively. After adjusting for age, sex and year of diagnosis, cases with CTD-PF had a better prognosis compared to those with IPF-CS (HR 0.76,95%CI: 0.62–0.92).ConclusionThe prognosis of individuals with CTD-PF appears to be significantly better than those with IPF-CS, but remains an important cause of death in patients with connective tissue disease, and requires more effective treatment options

A Comparative Analysis Of The Psychological Profile Of Institutionalised Drug Using Population.

Kajian-kajian yang dijalankan telah menunjukkan bahawa beberapa ciri-ciri personaliti didapati berada tergabung dengan tingkahlaku penagihan dadah. Tetapi dari kajian-kajian tersebut kita tidak dapat membuat kesimpulan,samada ciri-ciri ini adalah akibat daripada penagihan ataupun ciri-ciri yang menyebabkan penagiha

Abuse Of Volatile Solvents And Inhalants: Papers Presented At A W.H.O Advisory Meeting

Most regions of the world have shown concern about solvent substance inhalation as a form of drug abuse. This concern has been expressed in the past at various international meetings, including the Executive Board of the World Health Organization and the World Health Assembly and the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs

Analytical Methods For The Identification And Conformation Of The Principal Cannabinoid Metabolite In Urine.

Cannabis is obtained from the flowering tops and dried leaves of the hemp plant CANNABIS SATIVA L, in particular from the resin produced by the flowering tops. Many preparations of the drug are in common use, varying in potency

A Study On S.R.P. And S.P.M. Dropouts In Penang.

This report presents findings from an analysis of data collected on school dropouts from four examination groups: S.R.P. 1985, S.P.M. 1987. S.R.P. 1987 -and S.P.M. 1989. The purpose of this study i~ to examine the activities of the dropouts such as deviancy, criminality, employment or unemployment and courses pursued. The areas which were examined include socio-demographic background, educational background, drug use history, >deviancy, criminality and activities after dropping out of school