title: [Role of catecholamine hormone in heroin addicts].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effects of catecholamine hormone on the blood and brain of heroin addicts.
  
  
  METHODS
  Rats were divided into three groups and treated with the glucose (control group), the heroin (im) (heroin group), and the combination of the intramuscular injection of reserpine and heroin (reserpine group). Changes in the levels of the dopamine (DA), cAMP, and cGMP were detected by the radioimmunoassay (RIA) method in the blood and brain tissue.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No significant withdrawal symptoms were observed in the reserpine group. Compared with the control and heroin groups, the blood cAMP levels were increased by 35.36% and 15.53% in the reserpine group, respectively; the cAMP levels in the midbrain ventral tegmental area (VTA), prefrontal cortex (PFC), and hippocampus (Hipp) were increased by 24.08% & 8.53%, 15.66% & 8.13%, and 21.95% & 8.40%, respectively. While compared to the control and heroin groups, the DA levels of the PFC, Hipp, striatum, and nucleus accumbens (NAc) were significantly reduced in the reserpine group, decreasing by 74.09% & 82.86%, 81.06% & 82.23%, 91.62% & 86.55% and 84.35% & 90.63%, respectively. The concentrations of cGMP of the brain tissues in the reserpine group were lower than those in the control group. In addition, the neural electrophysiological testing showed that the electroencephalogram (EEG), electrocardiogram (ECG), and muscle spindle discharge diagram of rats in both the reserpine and heroin groups were apparently changed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Catecholamine hormone plays an important role in heroin addiction.
authors.forename: Fa-Rong
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Xiu-Zhen
authors.initials: XZ
authors.lastname: Lian
authors.forename: Hong-Mei
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xiao-Xi
authors.initials: XX
authors.lastname: Ning
authors.forename: Xiao-Wei
authors.initials: XW
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Ming-Ren
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Xie
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D002395:Catecholamines / Q000502:physiology*; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D006152:Cyclic GMP / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D004298:Dopamine / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D006556:Heroin Dependence / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D002395:Catecholamines; D000242:Cyclic AMP; D006152:Cyclic GMP; D004298:Dopamine