engleski

Serum levels of substance P among drug users and controls

Introduction: Substance P (SP) is neuropeptide of the tachykinin family, which also includes neurokinin A, neurokinin B, endokinins and hemokinins. Tachykinin NK-1 receptors and SP are involved in emotional responses to stress. The present study aimed to investigate serum levels of SP among drug users and controls. Samples and methods: We analysed levels of SP in sera obtained from 136 drug addicts and 133 controls with Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (Substance P ELISA Kit, Abcam, United Kingdom). The study was conducted with the approval of the Ethics Committee of our institution. Results: In control samples ware obtained concentrations of SP 58-7000 pg/mL but only 6.8% of the samples had a concentration above 1000 pg/ml, whereas in 46.6% samples was concentration of SP 500-799 pg/ml. In the group of samples obtained from drug addicts, 46% has a concentration of SP above 1000 pg/ml, while in 68.3% concentration was 800-2999 pg/ml. The average measured concentration in controls was 695 pg/ml and was twice lower than the average concentration in drug addicts, which is 1587 pg/ml. Conclusions: Our results show a significant difference in the average measured concentrations of SP between controls and drug addicts. Several high concentrations measured at controls are possible for people who occasionally use some drugs. The obtained results it is necessary further to process using data from psychological tests.

Neuropeptide; Substance P; Drug users

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