ABSTRACT
RATIONALE: Buprenorphine may be a useful alternative option to methadone in addicts. Opioids can produce severe changes in the immune system. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study are to compare the effect of sublingual buprenorphine and methadone on the immune system and to compare the two substances on the drying-out program compliance. METHODS: We studied 62 randomized outpatients for a period of 12 months. Subjects (55 males and 7 females; mean age 25+/-4 years; average history of heroin abuse being 2 years) on maintenance treatment were assigned in two groups (A and B). Methadone chloride (medium dose 100 mg/day) was administered to group A, whereas group B received sublingual buprenorphine (32.40+/-2.8 mg/day). Urine toxicological screening, plasma levels of TNF-alpha interleukin-1, interleukin-beta, lymphocyte CD14 and a self-rating depression questionnaire were measured. RESULTS: Urine screening was negative for opiates in 17.6% of group A and in 10.7% of group B (p<0.001; r = 0.62). Depression score was 62+/-2 in group A and 55+/-3 in group B (p < 0.01). Cytokine and CD14 revealed higher concentrations both in groups A and B without significant differences (p > 0.05) between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The effects of buprenorphine and methadone tested on the immune system were overlapping in our patients. The elevated cytokine levels observed may suggest that the two drugs stimulate immunologic hyperactivation of an immune system that was formerly inhibited by heroin. Furthermore, our data suggest that buprenorphine can be a valid alternative to methadone in maintenance treatment of chronic heroin abuse and referred a marked decline in depression.
Subject(s)
Buprenorphine/therapeutic use , Methadone/therapeutic use , Substance-Related Disorders/drug therapy , Substance-Related Disorders/immunology , Adult , Cytokines/immunology , Cytokines/metabolism , Female , Humans , Lipopolysaccharide Receptors/immunology , Lipopolysaccharide Receptors/metabolism , Male , Substance-Related Disorders/metabolismSubject(s)
Antigens, CD/blood , Bone Marrow Transplantation/immunology , Graft vs Host Disease/diagnosis , Graft vs Host Disease/immunology , Lymphocyte Subsets/immunology , Anemia, Aplastic/therapy , B-Lymphocyte Subsets/immunology , Flow Cytometry/methods , Humans , Immunophenotyping/methods , Leukemia/therapy , Living Donors , Nuclear Family , Predictive Value of Tests , T-Lymphocyte Subsets/immunology , Transplantation, HomologousSubject(s)
Anemia, Aplastic/therapy , Bone Marrow Transplantation/immunology , Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation , Leukemia/therapy , Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin/therapy , Multiple Myeloma/therapy , T-Lymphocytes/immunology , Adult , Anemia, Aplastic/immunology , Cyclosporine/therapeutic use , Graft vs Host Disease/prevention & control , Humans , Immunophenotyping , Immunosuppressive Agents/therapeutic use , Leukemia/immunology , Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin/immunology , Methotrexate/therapeutic use , Middle Aged , Multiple Myeloma/immunology , Transplantation, Autologous , Transplantation, HomologousABSTRACT
The human trifunctional folate-dependent protein MTHFD has been mapped to chromosome 14q24 and to the X chromosome was identified by screening an X-chromosome-specific library. Amplification by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing of PCR products indicate that the sequence is an intronless pseudogene.
