Evaluating the Differences of Minerals in Bones of Healthy and Addicted People
Author(s): Ali Yeganeh, Mani Mahmoudi, Babak Athari, Mahbobeh Jamshidi, Mehdi Moghtadaei*
Abstract
Introduction: Various bone analysis methods are used clinically in examining the mineral content. In a laboratory, the effects of environmental factors such as foods, drugs, diseases and various exposures can be examined by working on samples extracted from bone. The current research was conducted to examine the long-term effects of exposure to drug on the content of mineral elements in the bone.
Methodology: Among the trauma patients admitted to the hospital, 35 addicted men and 42 healthy men were studied. Patients were in the age range of 18 to 47 years. The bone graft of patients was prepared and the value of mineral elements in them was evaluated.
Results: The concentration of the metals examined in this research is different in healthy and addicted subjects, so that the value of some of the most important elements such as calcium is significantly lower in the addicted people than that in healthy people. Moreover, the accumulation of toxic elements in addicted people is more than that in healthy people.
Conclusion: People with long history of using opium have lower useful elements in bone metabolism, which it might be associated with increased risk of fracture and reduced restoration ability. Moreover, higher accumulation of toxic elements in the bone often results from biological accumulation over time, which might result in short-term and long-term complications, such as skeletal and muscular pain and even cancers.
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