A horse sedative is increasingly being introduced in the U.S. as a drug, and it is now involved in nearly one-third of the deadly overdose of opioid drugs in Philadelphia, according to a new study.
The sedative, called xylazine, is not considered an opioid, but it is often found mixed with the opioids. heroin or fentanyl, a combination sometimes called ‘tranq dope’, according to a study published in the journal on Tuesday (February 2). Injury prevention.
The researchers found that drug detection during post-mortem examinations has increased sharply over the past decade among people who have died from opioid overdose in Philadelphia.
The findings suggest that “the opioid epidemic in the United States is still evolving,” the authors wrote. They say that deaths due to overdose with xylasin in the country can be underreported because laboratories do not always test for it. The authors call for increased monitoring of xylazine abuse in the US, as well as its health consequences.
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Animal sedative
Xylazine is a sedative used in veterinary medicine, especially in horses. In the US it is not approved for use in humans and is known to cause potentially dangerous side effects in humans, including layers blood pressure and a slow heartbeat.
Illegal drug users in Puerto Rico have been taking opioid xylazine since the early 2000s, and more recently it has appeared in the illegal supply of drugs in the continental US health departments. Maryland, Ohio and Michigan has reported several cases of xylazine overdose deaths over the past two years. But overall, research on xylazine in the U.S. illegal drug supply is very limited.
In the new study, the researchers analyzed data on overdose deaths in Philadelphia from 2010 to 2019. They specifically investigated unintended deaths with heroin or fentanyl, both of which opioids.
They found that between 2010 and 2015, xylazine was detected in only 2% of these deaths from overdose. But by 2019, the figure has risen to 31%.
What’s more, data on illegal drug seizures by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration suggests that xylazine is increasingly found in ‘polydrug’ samples, which contain heroin or fentanyl along with other drugs. Between 2010 and 2013, none of the multiple samples tested in the agency’s laboratories contained xylazine, but by 2019, 25% contained the drug.
Studies on the health effects of xylazine combined with opioids are limited, but some research suggests that the mixture may increase the risk of opioids. overdose death.
Nevertheless, the researchers note that their study could not determine which drug or combination of drugs was involved in the deaths from the Philadelphia overdose.
It is also unclear exactly why xylazine is added to the U.S. drug supply and whether the people who used overdoses used the drug. Some Philadelphia focus groups have found that people who use illegal drugs report that xylazine prolongs the effects of opioids, the authors said.
The authors concluded that ‘further study is needed to examine the synergistic effects of
the use of fentanyl and xylazine by humans and to better contextualize the reasons for its use in the USA. ” And where possible, health law areas should test the drug consistently, ‘they said.
Originally published on Live Science.