Abstract
Summary
Radioactive heroin was injected into rats treated with (cold) heroin (HA), nontreated control rats, and previously treated “withdrawn” rats (HW). The animals were sacrificed between 0–20 min postinjection. Brain, liver, kidneys and plasma were removed and assayed for the presence of heroin in relation to MAM and morphine.
There is a significant difference in heroin metabolism between HA and control rats for all tissues studied. Tissues of HA rats maintain a relatively steady concentration of heroin from 0 to 20 min postinjection. Tissues of control rats exhibit an immediate drop in heroin concentration (0–2 min) before rising to a relatively steady state. Seven weeks after withdrawal from heroin, tissue metabolism is slowly returning toward normal but remains at levels closer to those in HA rats. Concentrations of heroin may be maintained by plasma acting as a carrier of heroin into tissues which deacetylate and plasma removing MAM and morphine out of these tissues for excretion.
Differences in maintenance levels may be due to blocking of binding sites.
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