Effects of tramadol abuse on plasma concentration of leptin and agouti related protein (AGRP) Attalla Sohayla M.1,,4,,*, Fathy Wael2,,5, Nader Lamis M.3,,6 1Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology Department Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Egypt 2Consultant of Forensic Chemistry, Center of Forensic and Digital Science, Judicial Department, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 3Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology Department Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt 4Department of Forensic Medicine, International Medical School (IMS), Management and Science University (MSU), Malaysia 5Expert in Forensic Chemistry Lab., Forensic Medicine Authority, Ministry of Justice, Cairo, Egypt 6Department of Forensic Biotechnology, College of Biotechnology, University of Modern Sciences, Dubai, UAE *Corresponding Author Prof. (Dr.) Sohayla M. Attalla Forensic Medicine unit, International Medical School (IMS), Management and Science University (MSU), 40100, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia, Email: sohayla@msu.edu.my
Online published on 1 May, 2020. Abstract The effect of addicting drugs on body weight has been studied before and some types of addiction were found to affect the body weight, but still, the mechanism is not certain. The current study is a trial to understand the effect of a one of the most commonly used analgesics and also a one of the most abused drugs "tramadol" on the hormones regulating the appetite and subsequently the body weight "Leptin and AgRP”. The study compared the blood levels of leptin and AgRP in four study groups, 10 participants each. Tramadol and desmethyl-tramadol were confirmed negative in GroupI (GI) and group II (GII) and positive in both Group III (GIII) and group IV (GIV). Results showed that tramadol abuse increased leptin concentration in both normal weight and obese cases in comparison to non-abusers either normal weight or obese. Meanwhile, it decreased AgRP concentration in both normal weight and obese cases in comparison to non-abusers either normal weight or obese. Also, the review of literature concluded that these hormones are also altered in different cases of drug abuse so it is recommended to study the effect of other drugs on these hormones. Top Keywords Tramadol, Leptin, AgRP, body weight. Top |