1. The Effects of Opium Addiction on the Immune System Function in Patients with Fungal Infection.
- Author
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Izadi, Alireza, Seyyed Amin Ayatollahi Mousavi, Asadikaram, Gholamreza, and Nakhaee, Nouzar
- Subjects
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OPIUM abuse , *MYCOSES - Abstract
Objective: The use of narcotics such as opium exposes addicts as susceptible targets of different diseases so that they might easily be exposed to different diseases such as fungal infections. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of addiction to opium and fungal infection on plasma levels of certain cytokines including IL-4, IL-6, IL-17, IFN-γ, and TGF-β. Material and Methods: Present study includes 72 individuals who were divided into 4 groups: 1) opium addicted with fungal infection; 2) opium-addicted without fungal infection; 3) non-opium-addicted with fungal infection; and 4) normal individuals (non-opium-addicted and non-fungal infection). The fungal samples, after being detected and confirmed by a physician, were prepared based on clinical symptoms and then analyzed by direct smear and culture method. The measurement of the plasma level of cytokines was done by ELISA method. Results: The comparison of the mean of the plasma level of cytokines shows that addiction to opium and fungal infection had respectively the significant effects on the plasma levels of IL-17, IFN-γ, TGF-β cytokines in all studied groups. The interaction of addiction to opium and fungal infection was only significant in the case of plasma level of IL-6. Conclusion: Addiction to opium and fungal infection, either separately or simultaneously with each other, pose significant effects on the immune system and cause disorders in the cytokine network and the immune system and also provides a suitable environment for fungal infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2018