Rajaa Jaber Abdel Rasul
Department of Emergency Medicine and First Aid Technologies, Institute of Medical Technology-Baghdad, Middle Technical University, Baghdad, Iraq
Dunia Abdul Jabbar Star
Department of Nursing Technologies, Institute of Medical Technology-Baghdad, Middle Technical University, Baghdad, Iraq
Zainab Makki Dahham
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq
Sabaa Abd Jaber
College of Engineering, AL-Iraqia University, Baghdad, Iraq
Wejdan Salman Hashim
Department of Chemistry, College of Sciences, University of Baghdad, Al-Jadriya campus, 10071, Baghdad, Iraq
Noor Abdulhussain Naama
6Department of Forensic Evidence Sciences, College of Science, Al-Karkh University of Science, Baghdad, Iraq
Noor Faraj Kadhem
Polymer Research Unit, College of Science, Al-Mustansiriya University, Baghdad, Iraq
Background: Crystal methamphetamine addiction is associated with severe neurotoxicity and oxidative stress. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate sera Neurofilament Light Chain as a label of neuronal injury and to estimate oxidative stress through total oxidant status and total antioxidant status in male and female crystal methamphetamine addicts before and after 21 days of treatment. Methods: Eighty individuals were included in the study, comprising 60 addicts and 60 healthy controls. Blood samples were collected from addicts before treatment and again after 21 days of treatment. Serum levels of Neurofilament Light Chain were measured by ELISA, while TOS and TAS were determined spectrophotometrically analyses. Results: The results illustrated significantly elevated Neurofilament Light Chain and TOS concentration (p≤0.001), and decreased TAS levels (p≤0.001) in addicts compared with healthy controls. After 21 days of treatment, Neurofilament Light Chain and TOS levels decreased significantly while TAS increased. Significant correlations were observed between oxidative stress parameters and neuronal injury, which may indicate a possible mechanistic link between neurotoxicity and oxidative imbalance in methamphetamine addiction. ROC curve analysis showed that Neurofilament Light Chain exhibited high diagnostic accuracy in distinguishing addicts from healthy subjects. Conclusions: These findings indicate that Neurofilament Light Chain and oxidative stress biomarkers may be useful indicators of methamphetamine-induced neurotoxicity and recovery following treatment.
