title: Urine as a material for evaluation of exposure to manganese in methcathinone users.
abstract: Chronic exposure even to low doses of manganese may lead to development of neurological syndrome similar to parkinsonism. The aim of this research is to assess the possibility of manganese poisoning based on the level of metal in the urine of long-term methcathinone users from Poland. Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy (GFAAS) was used to determine manganese in urine, while the detection of the psychoactive drugs was performed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results of survey on longitudinal patterns of drug use showed that users of traditional illicit drugs now turn to cheaper alternatives, such as methcathinone. Parkinsonian features were observed in almost half of methcathinone users. The subjects had a higher mean level of Mn in their urine (8.68±9.27 μg L(-1)) than the controls (4.27±1.91 μg L(-1)). The presence of numerous psychoactive substances (in unchanged forms and their metabolites) was confirmed in all of the samples, with only one exception. The elevated level of manganese in urine (in 29.2% of patients) can be used as a primary marker of recent methcathinone administration, especially in the case of long time intravenous drug users where blood sampling is complicated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, Ingardena 3, 30-060 Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Golasik
authors.affiliation: Outpatients Clinic for Drug Prevention and Treatment of Addicts, Św. Katarzyny 3, 31-063 Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: Grzegorz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wodowski
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Analytical Toxicology and Therapeutic Drug Monitoring, Faculty of Medicine Jagiellonian University, Kopernika 15b, 31-501 Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gomółka
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, Ingardena 3, 30-060 Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Herman
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, Ingardena 3, 30-060 Krakow, Poland; Laboratory of High Resolution Mass Spectrometry, Regional Laboratory of Physicochemical Analysis and Structural Research, Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, Ingardena 3, 30-060 Krakow, Poland. Electronic address: wpiekosz@tlen.pl.
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Piekoszewski
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008345:Manganese / Q000652:urine*; D020734:Parkinsonian Disorders / Q000652:urine; D011427:Propiophenones / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic
chemical_list: D011427:Propiophenones; C047806:monomethylpropion; D008345:Manganese
keywords: Illicit drugs; Manganese; Methcathinone; Parkinson-like syndrome; Urine