MyMedR

Displaying all 7 publications

Abstract:

Sort:

Fulltext Pilot study on depression among secondary school students in Selangor

Adlina S, Suthahar A, Ramli M, Edariah AB, Soe SA, Mohd Ariff F, et al.

Med J Malaysia, 2007 Aug;62(3):218-22.
PMID: 18246911 MyJurnal

A cross sectional descriptive study of 2048 subjects was conducted to determine the prevalence of depression and factors influencing depression among students in secondary school from urban and rural areas in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. The children's depression inventory (CDI) developed by Maria Kovacs was used in this study. Students who participated in this study come from two urban schools and three rural schools. It was found that in the yield for scores for five factors were 9.2% have negative mood, 5% have interpersonal problems, 8.3% have ineffectiveness, 9.8% have anhedonia and 10.6% have negative self esteem. Following the interpretive guidelines for the T-scores, it was found that 10.3% of the students were much above average in the depression scale. This study also found that: 1% of students were smoking, 1.6% of students were gum sniffling, 0.9% took drugs, 4.1% took alcohol and 9.9% took things from other people. Females were more depressed than males. The Chinese students were more depressed compared to Indian students. Students whose parents had no formal education or had only primary education were more depressed than students whose parents had secondary, college or university education. Depression increased with increasing number of siblings. Depression contributed to the habit of drug abuse, gum sniffing and stealing but not to smoking and alcohol abuse. Suicidal tendencies were more likely among the depressed students. It is imperative that not only caregivers but also teachers have to be equipped with the knowledge, attitude and skills to assist secondary school children cope with their emotions, handle conflicts and manage stress early so that a more productive society will develop in the future.

Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/etiology
An overview of inhalant abuse in selected countries of Asia and the Pacific Region

Kin F, Navaratnam V

NIDA Res. Monogr., 1995;148:29-49.
PMID: 8929883
Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/etiology
Sequence of onset of different drug use among opiate addicts

Navaratnam V, Foong K

Curr Med Res Opin, 1989;11(9):600-9.
PMID: 2612204

The temporal sequence of drug use should reveal which drugs are precursors to heroin and which drugs are used subsequent to the establishment of heroin addiction as adjunctive drugs. This temporal sequence was examined in an epidemiological study. Out of 249 opiate addicts interviewed in the area of Penang, Malaysia, this sequence of drugs could be obtained in 248 cases. The mean (median) age for first use of nicotine is 15.5 (15) years, alcohol 18.4 (18) years, cannabis 17.8 (17) years, heroin 21.8 (21) years, opium 22.8 (22) years, and benzodiazepines 25.8 (25) years. The age of first use of different drug types is presented in some detail. The patterns of sequence of drug use was analyzed for the five major and most frequently reported drugs, i.e. alcohol, cannabis, heroin, opium and benzodiazepines. Nicotine, used as first drug in almost all cases, was omitted in this analysis. A clear trend to multiple drug abuse emerges from this analysis; the biggest number of cases were users of 4 drugs (81 cases), followed by 3 drugs (59 cases) and 5 drugs (58 cases). Thus, nicotine, alcohol and cannabis are precursors of heroin addiction. Other adjunctive drugs become important only after heroin addiction. Among these substances, opium and benzodiazepines are numerically preponderant.

Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/etiology
Tradition, cultural patterns and drug availability as predictors of youthful drug abuse: a comparison of Malaysia with post-revolutionary Iran

Spencer C

J Psychoactive Drugs, 1985 Jan-Mar;17(1):19-24.
PMID: 3981302
Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/etiology*
Acute organic brain syndrome due to drug-induced eosinophilia

Ng SC, Lee MK, Teh A

Postgrad Med J, 1989 Nov;65(769):843-4.
PMID: 2616421

A 72 year old man developed acute organic brain syndrome associated with marked eosinophilia following self medication with a variety of drugs. Investigations revealed no other known causes of eosinophilia. Withdrawal of drugs resulted in dramatic drop in eosinophil count paralleled by clinical resolution of neurological problems. To our knowledge drug-induced eosinophilia has not previously been associated with acute organic brain syndrome.

Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/etiology*
Fulltext Mitragyna speciosa use in the northern states of Malaysia: a cross-sectional study

Ahmad K, Aziz Z

J Ethnopharmacol, 2012 May 7;141(1):446-50.
PMID: 22440259 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2012.03.009

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE:
The consumption of Mitragyna speciosa (MS) for its psychoactive effects is widely reported amongst people in the villages in Thailand and Malaysia even though its use is illegal.
AIM OF THE STUDY: This study examined the pattern of MS use, its reported effects and explored its potential to cause dependence.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used both convenience and snowball-sampling methods to recruit participants in a border town between two northern states in Malaysia. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with the use of a structured questionnaire on 562 respondents who gave oral consent to participate in the study.
RESULTS: The response rate was 91%. The majority of the respondents (88%) reported daily use of MS. The main mode of using MS was by drinking the MS extract as tea (90%). The mean age of starting MS use was 28.3 (SD=8.1) years. A variety of reasons were given for using MS including for social and recreational needs, stamina and physical endurance, pain relief and improved sexual performance. Despite its reported usefulness in weaning off opiate addiction, 460 (87%) admitted they were not able to stop using MS. Only education level had a statistically significant association with the ability to stop or not stop the use of MS (χ(2)=31.0, df=1, p<0.001). Significantly higher proportions of those with a lower education level (38%) were able to stop using MS compared to respondents with a higher education level.
CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides important information on the pattern of MS use, its effects and its potential to cause addiction, as there has been growing interest in MS as evidenced by the number of advertisements for its sale on the Internet. Future study is required to explore its psychological and social impact on users.

Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/etiology
Real time monitoring of dopamine release evoked by mitragynine (Kratom): An insight through electrochemical sensor

Effendy MA, Yunusa S, Zain ZM, Hassan Z

Neurosci Lett, 2021 10 15;763:136183.
PMID: 34418508 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2021.136183

BACKGROUND: Mitragynine, the major indole alkaloid from Mitragyna speciosa has been reported previously to possess abuse liability. However, there are insufficient data suggesting the mechanism through which this pharmacological agent causes addiction.
AIMS: In this study, we investigated the effects of mitragynine on dopamine (DA) level and dopamine transporter (DAT) expression from the rat's frontal cortex.
METHODS: DA level was recorded in the brain samples of animals treated with acute or repeated exposure for 4 consecutive days with either vehicle or mitragynine (1 and 30 mg/kg) using electrochemical sensor. Animals were then decapitated and the brain regions were removed, snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen and immediately stored at -80 °C. DA level was quantified using Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits and DAT gene expression was determined using quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).
RESULTS/OUTCOME: Mitragynine (1 and 30 mg/kg) did not increase DA release following acute treatment, however, after repeated exposure at day 4, mitragynine significantly and dose dependently increased DA release in the frontal cortex. In this study, we also observed a significant increase in DAT mRNA expression at day 4 in group treated with mitragynine (30 mg/kg).
CONCLUSION/INTERPRETATION: Data from this study indicates that mitragynine significantly increased DA release when administered repeatedly, increased in DAT mRNA expression with the highest tested dose (30 mg/kg). Therefore, the rewarding effects observed after mitragynine administration could be due to its ability to increase DA content in certain areas of the brain especially the frontal cortex.

Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/etiology