Objective To determine the proportion of heroin use among patients who were involved in community-based methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) program and to identify the risk factors associated with heroin use. Methods This study was conducted in 9 MMT clinics within 3 provinces. Thirteen hundred and one patients who met the study criteria were selected from each of the five groups with different dosages of methadone users. An administrative questionnaire was applied to explore the demographics,drug abuse-related behaviors and MMT services received by the clients,etc. The prevalence of depression and anxiety among the clients were also collected by SAS and SDS. Urine samples were collected as a biological marker to indicate if heroin had been used. Results Of the 1301 patients,76.2% were males. The mean age was (34.6±6.5) years while 71.7% had an education level of primary school or below. The average daily dosage of methadone was (48.1±29.4) mg and self-satisfied evaluation score on treatment was 8.6. On average,27.7% urine samples showed positive opiate evidence. Marital status,employment status,treatment retention,self-satisfied evaluation score on dosage and dropout history were found to be significantly associatedwith heroin use,while gender,education level and dosage had no significant association with heroin use. It seemed that risk factors that associated with heroin use were different from areas to areas. Conclusion High quality MMT clinic services,high self-satisfied score,longer treatment retention and low dropout rate seemed to have the effects of reducing the risk of ongoing heroin abuse under the methadone maintenance treatment program.

Acne Vulgaris/therapy* ; Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Hot Temperature ; Humans ; Quality of Life ; Spleen ; Stomach ; Treatment Outcome

Compound Yizhihao, consists of Radix isatidis, Folium isatidis, Artemisia rupestris, has a significant therapeutic effect on the treatment of influenza and fever. However, the mechanism of its action is still unclear. In this investigation, we collected the key target molecule of influenza disease and the chemical constituents of Compound Yizhihao, and developed Naïve Bayesian classification models based on the input molecular fingerprints and molecule descriptors. The built models were further applied to construct classifiers for predicting the effective constituents. We used the professional network-building software to build the constituent-target network and target-pathway network, which revealed the network pharmacology of the effective constituents in Compound Yizhihao. It will contribute to the further research of mechanism of Compound Yizhihao.

By using the drug metabolizing enzyme inhibitors, the effects of metabolic factors on potential liver injury induced by the main component, trans-2,3,5,4'-tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-β-D-glucoside(trans-SG), in Polygonum multiflorum was investigated. The main metabolic enzyme isoforms involved in trans-SG metabolism were also screened. The results showed that trans-SG at the dosage 31 mg·kg^-1 did not cause liver injury; and the combination of trans-SG with the phase I metabolic enzyme inhibitor, 1-benzylimidazole (10 mg·kg^-1), did not change the degree of liver injury(compared with LPS + trans-SG group, P > 0.05). However, the combination of trans-SG with phase II metabolic enzyme inhibitor, ketoconazole(35 mg·kg^-1), significantly increased the degree of liver injury(compared with LPS + trans-SG group, P < 0.05). The phase I metabolites of trans-SG were not detected in human liver microsomes phase I metabolism system, while the phase II trans-SG metabolites were detected in recombinant human UGT isozymes phase II metabolism system. Six isoforms of uridine diphosphate glucuronate transferase(UGT)exhibited abilities to metabolize trans-SG and the order of metabolic ability was: UGT1A1 > UGT1A9 > UGT1A7 > UGT1A10 > UGT2B7 > UGT1A8. The results showed that trans-SG was mainly metabolized by UGT in phase II metabolism. The inhibition of drug metabolizing enzymes of phase II can increase the liver injury susceptibility of trans-SG, which provides a reference to the evaluation of susceptible factors and drug incompatibility research of Polygonum multiflorum.

OBJECTIVEMacrolide susceptibility and drug resistance mechanisms of clinical non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) isolates were preliminarily investigated for more accurate diagnosis and treatment of the infection in China.

METHODSFour macrolides, including clarithromycin (CLAR), azithromycin (AZM), roxithromycin (ROX), and erythromycin (ERY), were used to test the drug susceptibility of 310 clinical NTM isolates from six provinces of China with the broth microdilution method. Two resistance mechanisms, 23S rRNA and erm, were analyzed with nucleotide sequence analysis.

RESULTSVaried effectiveness of macrolides and species-specific resistance patterns were observed. Most Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. massiliense were susceptible and all M. fortuitum were highly resistant to macrolides. All the drugs, except for erythromycin, exhibited excellent activities against slow-growing mycobacteria, and drug resistance rates were below 22.2%. Only four highly resistant strains harbored 2,058/2,059 substitutions on rrl and none of other mutations were related to macrolide resistance. G2191A and T2221C on rrl were specific for the M. abscessus complex (MABC). Seven sites, G2140A, G2210C, C2217G, T2238C, T2322C, T2404C, and A2406G, were specifically carried by M. avium and M. intracellulare. Three sites, A2192G, T2358G, and A2636G, were observed only in M. fortuitum and one site G2152A was specific for M. gordonae. The genes erm(39) and erm(41) were detected in M. fortuitum and M. abscessus and inducible resistance was observed in relevant sequevar.

CONCLUSIONThe susceptibility profile of macrolides against NTM was demonstrated. The well-known macrolide resistance mechanisms, 23S rRNA and erm, failed to account for all resistant NTM isolates, and further studies are warranted to investigate macrolide resistance mechanisms in various NTM species.

Anti-Bacterial Agents ; pharmacology ; Bacterial Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; China ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial ; Humans ; Macrolides ; pharmacology ; Mycobacterium ; drug effects ; genetics ; Polymorphism, Genetic