HARCP Archives

Browse by article

Browse by volume

Heroin Addiction and Related Clinical Problems: 2019, 21, N6 (pages: 31 - 36)

A Clinical Case Control Study to Evaluate Oxidative Stress in Heroin Addicts

Ullah A., Khan A., Iqbal Z., Khan I., Ahmad L., Kaleem W.A., Alam M., Ullah N., and Ahmad M.

Summary: Background: Heroin is a widely abused drug worldwide. Prolonged use has been associated with oxidative stress through the mechanism of increasing the production of reactive species. Aim: This study aims to evaluate the oxidative stress status of heroin addicts. Methods: A total of 108 participants (60 heroin addicts and 48 controls), all of them age- and area-matched, were selected for this study. After taking the blood samples, serum and erythrocytes were separated, processed and stored for further analysis. The overall antioxidant status of heroin addicts was evaluated by measuring antioxidant vitamins (alpha-tocopherol and all-trans-retinol), uric acid, bilirubin, and antioxidant enzymes (such as superoxide dismutase and catalase) using HPLC-UV, spectrophotometric and manual colorimetric methods. Results: The levels of alpha-tocopherol (P = 0.039), all-trans-retinol (P = 0.007), bilirubin (P = 0.003), SOD (P = 0.033) and catalase (P = 0.021) in the blood samples of heroin addicts were found to be significantly lower than those of healthy volunteers with no significant change in the uric acid level (P = 0.143). Conclusion: Our study concluded that one of the results of heroin addiction is to compromise the anti-oxidant status of the body by decreasing the levels of antioxidants, so disturbing the balance between oxidants and antioxidants and resulting in oxidative stress.