kratom Archives - Randox Laboratories

Amidst growing concerns of an opioid-abuse epidemic in the United States, it has been established that kratom (Mitragynine) is increasing in popularity amongst opioid users and has been reported as the new ‘legal high’.

Kratom is an unendorsed herb substance which has not yet been criminalized in the United States and is considered a powerful analgesic with opioid-like effects at high doses and acts as a stimulant at lower doses. Often used as a treatment for chronic pain or opiate withdrawal patients, it also comes in the form of a dietary supplement. As there are no Federal regulations monitoring the sale and distribution of Kratom the substance continues to be readily available and easily accessible via the internet, increasing its abuse by chronic pain patients on prescription opioids.

Kratom has been associated with psychosis, seizures, and has recently cited 100 deaths over a 17-month period by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In previous reports, the Food and Drug Administration had warned against the use of Kratom to ease opioid withdrawal, as many pain physicians are not familiar about its addictive properties. Further the DEA plans to classify kratom as a Schedule 1 substance.

Are you testing for Kratom?

Randox Toxicology are the only suppliers for the detection of Kratom. Alongside our exclusive highly sensitive kratom ELISA test, this drug of abuse is available on our New Psychoactive Substances II panel, which utilises our universally available patented Biochip Array Technology.

Offering excellent cross-reactivity and unrivalled limits of detection over a range of routine and novel assays Biochip Array Technology is the world’s first multiplex screening technology. Designed to work across multiple matrices such as urine, blood, and oral fluid its intra and inter assay precision is typically <10% giving excellent correlation with confirmatory methods.

For more information regarding our Kratom tests get in touch with us by emailing info@randoxtoxicology.com

A letter published by The New England Journal of Medicine documented that officials from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); Douglas C. Throckmorton, Scott Gottlieb and Janet Woodcock have warned that non-opioid painkillers could be at the forefront of the next wave of drug abuse.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that over 42,000 deaths in the US were due to opioid abuse in 2016, with 40% of all opioid related deaths having involved prescription opioids. As a result, the FDA are encouraging doctors to prescribe alternative opioid drugs when possible and are developing new therapeutics to help people dealing with pain.

However, fears have been raised that curbing prescription opioid abuse could lead to opioid substitutes being used. Substances that are being closely watched include over the counter treatments; benzodiazepines and kratom.

Benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepines are minor tranquillisers used to treat anxiety and insomnia. The effects include sedation, suppressing fits and making the user feel calm and relaxed. When mixed with other depressant drugs like heroin or alcohol, benzodiazepines can cause short term memory loss and nasty withdrawal symptoms such as tremors, anxiety and vomiting. These tranquillisers come in tablet form which people may crush or melt to inject, making them extremely dangerous and sometimes fatal.

Kratom

The tropical tree known as kratom, grows in marshy areas around Asia and contains the active chemicals mitragynine, mitraphylline and 7-hydroxymitragynine. The effects of taking kratom include an opiate like sedation and a stimulated state of alertness, whilst higher doses can trigger severe nausea and vomiting. Heavy use of the drug can also cause constipation, darkening of the skin, insomnia, dry mouth and anorexia.

Did you know that cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in women? Cardiovascular disease, or CVD, accounts for 27% of all female deaths. That’s much higher than what is commonly thought to be the biggest killer of women – breast cancer. At Randox, we’re using our innovative technology to diagnose CVD cases as early as possible so appropriate treatment can be sought.

The Randox clinical product range offers a wide range of products to combat heart issues including the RX series extensive cardiac testing panel, reagents such as H-FABP, Adiponectin an TxB Cardio and an extensive cardiac QC range available in both liquid & lyophilised format.

You can find out more about how Randox is helping to diagnose women’s health issues, such as CVD, here.

What is CVD?

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a general terms for conditions that affect the heart and/or blood vessels. It is usually associated with the build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries and an increased risk of blood clots.

CVD is one of the main causes of death and disability in the UK but can often largely be prevented with a healthy lifestyle.

Types of CVD

Coronary heart disease

This occurs when the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle is blocked or reduced

Stroke

A stroke is where the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off, which can cause brain damage and possibly death. A transient ischaemic attack (also called a TIA or “mini-stroke”) is similar, but the blood flow to the brain is only temporarily disrupted.

Causes of CVD

The exact cause of CVD isn’t clear, but there are lots risk factors that can increase your risk of getting it. The more risk factors you have, the greater your chances of developing CVD. Risk factors include:

High blood pressure
Smoking
High cholesterol
Diabetes
Inactivity
Being overweight or obese
Family history of CVD
Ethnic background

Preventing CVD

Stop smoking
Have a balanced diet
Exercise regularly
Maintain a healthy weight
Cut down alcohol consumption

How is Randox helping to detect CVD?

Randox has developed the RX series of clinical chemistry analysers for superior semi-automated and fully automated testing. The RX series extensive dedicated test menu goes beyond routine testing and has many unique and high-performance tests available. Our range of tests covers many tests for the diagnosis and monitoring of cardiac diseases.

Cardiac Panel

Cholesterol	CRP Full Range(0.3-160mg/l)	Direct LDL Cholesterol	sLDL
CK-MB	CRP High Sensitivity	Heart-Type Fatty Acid Binding Protein (H-FABP)	Triglycerides
CK-NAC	Digoxin	Lipoprotein(a)	TxB Cardio
CRP	Direct HDL Cholesterol	Myoglobin	Adiponectin

Our world leading test menu of high quality reagents guarantees excellence in patient care ensuring unrivalled precision and accuracy reducing costly test re-runs or misdiagnosis and offering complete confidence in results.

The RX series clinical chemistry analysers provide laboratories with a robust and smart solution ensuring you maintain a consistent workflow and can provide accurate results first time, every time. Offering excellent customer support services, our trained engineers are on hand to work with you in preserving the continuity of your operations while maximising the potential of your RX series instrument.

For more information visit: https://www.randox.com/clinical-chemistry-analysers/

Kratom: The Emerging Drug of Abuse