ABSTRACT
Objectives: To study the association of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with heroin addiction. Study design: A cross-sectional, hospital based study. Place and duration of study: The study was carried out at Lady Reading Hospital and Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan from 4th April 2012 to 13th September 2012. Subjects and Methods: A sample of 137 adult heroin addicts were analyzed that whether they were ADHD and that childhood problem continues to manifest symptoms in adults. For retrospective assessment of childhood ADHD, the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS) as well as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) symptom checklist for ADHD was used. The Conners’ Adult ADHD Rating Scales (CAARS) was used to assess the persisting symptoms of ADHD in adults. Inclusion criteria: Patient diagnosed with heroin addiction according to ICD-9 and DSM-IV. Exclusion criteria: Patient has co-morbid with any other mental illnesses. Results: The difference between the mean score of WURS and CAARS of ADHD patients were significantly greater than the normal patients. Heroin addicts showed 41.6% (WURS) and 38.6% (DSM-IV diagnostic criteria) that indicated evidence of retrospective ADHD affliction in childhood. 22.6% were IV users. CAARS was presented in 37.9% heroin addicts who exhibited a substantiation of ADHD persistent in adulthood. The difference between the mean score of WURS and CAARS of ADHD patients were significantly greater (P = 0.003), than the normal patients. Conclusions: These results revealed that addiction is associated with co-morbidity with ADHD, expressed in the form of heroin addiction.
ABSTRACT
A study was carried out in 24 normotensive and 49 hypertensive subjects to measure the in-vivo platelet aggregation. Platelet aggregation ratio [PAR], which determines the circulating platelet aggregates quantitatively, was measured using the method of Wu and Hoak. The mean +/- SEM of PAR in the normotensive group was 0.90 +/- 0.01, whereas in the hypertensive group it decreased to 0.57 +/- 0.01 showing a significant decline [p < 0.0001]. The PAR was inversely correlated with the level of blood pressure. These results suggest increased level of circulating platelet aggregates in hypertension. This increased stickiness of platelets and hyperaggregability may lead to impeded blood flow and subsequent development of atherosclerotic complications. The results also suggest that the increased in-vivo platelet aggregation may be associated with the raised haemodynamic stress in the arterial vasculature