Use of psychoactive substances by goods carriage drivers associated with Kerala, India.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to measure the prevalence of drugs of abuse (DOA) among the goods carriage drivers associated with the southern State of India, Kerala. METHODS: Point-of-collection testing (POCT) of oral fluid collected from the participants (n = 249) was done using the Evidence MultiSTAT DOA Oral Fluid II Assay kits and the Evidence MultiSTAT analyzer. RESULTS: Out of the total samples, 53 (21.29%) were positive for one or more DOA. A high prevalence of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (10.04%) and synthetic cannabinoids were detected in the samples. The use of ketamine, alpha-PVP, LSD, methamphetamine, opiate, 6-MAM, benzodiazepines I, methadone, PCP, tramadol, and amphetamine was also detected and their frequency of use ranged between 4.02 and 0.80%. An association between drug abuse and distance of travel was found in drivers in this study, χ2 (5, N = 249) = 123.5, p < 0.001. Confirmatory analysis using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry showed excellent agreement with the results of the screening test. CONCLUSIONS: This was the first study conducted among drivers in India for the detection of DOA. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) was used more by the goods carriage drivers associated with Kerala State, India. The use of psychoactive substances significantly increased with the distance of travel. Point-of-collection testing (POCT) by the biochip array technology is an efficient method for the detection of these substances.

MAOA-uVNTR polymorphism in male recidivist violent offenders in the Indian population.

INTRODUCTION: An association of MAOA-uVNTR polymorphism with aggression and violence has been demonstrated in many studies; however, this association is inconclusive due to the allelic variation in different populations. Allelic variants and the frequency of this polymorphism among recidivist violent offenders could provide more information about this complex behaviour. Hence, the association between violence and the polymorphism of variable numbers of tandem repeats located upstream of the MAOA gene needs to be ruled out. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Identified recidivist violent offenders by various laws of 'Offences against Human Body and Property' of the Indian Penal Code and natives of the southern state of India, Kerala, were the cases. Individuals without a history of any offences, from the same locality, were taken as controls. DNA extracted from the buccal epithelial cells from the subjects was genotyped using PCR methods for identifying MAOA-uVNTR polymorphism. RESULTS: In the subjects (n = 67), polymorphism in the promoter region of the MAOA gene, which comprises of 30bp repeats, 3.5 and 4.5 repeat alleles were observed statistically significantly (p = 0.015). Both 3.5 and 4.5 repeat alleles were present in the participants belonging to the control group. All the participants belonging to experiment group had 3.5 repeats only. CONCLUSIONS: This candidate gene-environment interaction (cGxE) may be one of the reasons for the development of psychopathology in violent offenders. This is the first study among offenders in this regard in India, and data generated will be a significant contribution to the aetiology of various psychiatric disorders and population-specific genome database.