Background: Addiction to opioid drugs is considered as a problem throughout the world. Addiction can be studied concerning: social, medical and psychological aspects. The social aspect of addiction is quite important. For example, the negative result of addiction test is a requirement for marriage and job by law. On the other hand, frauds in addiction tests have been reported (such as displacement of urine from bladder, alkalization or acidification of urine and taking of diuretics or oral contraceptives).

Materials and Methods: In the present study, two different chronic morphine administration protocols (tolerance and dependency models) were applied. Estrogen and progesterone were given prior and simultaneously with morphine. After the last injection of morphine, urine samples were taken every 6 h for 24 h. Then morphine was quantitatively detected by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Data analysis was performed using two-way ANOVA and repeated measures ANOVA test followed by Student-Newman-Keuls test. Conjugated morphine was measured by the subtraction of free part of morphine from the total one in the urine samples.

Results: Our results indicated that prior administration of estrogen and progesterone increased the metabolism of morphine 6 and 12 h after the last injection, while no significant change was detected after 18 and 24 h.

Conclusion: In summary, it can be concluded that estrogen and progesterone transiently affect the metabolism of morphine. Thus, the effect of the sex hormones on morphine metabolism is not clinically important.

Background: Studies have shown that there is an association between the smoking and serum levels of sex steroid hormones. This study aimed to compare the effects of cigarette and waterpipe smoke on serum levels of LH, FSH, estradiol and progesterone in female rats.

Materials and Methods: In this laboratory-scale experimental study, female Wistar rats were randomly divided into the control, cigarette, and waterpipe smoke receiving groups (10 rats in each group). Animals were exposed to cigarette or waterpipe smoke once a day for 100 minutes. After 6 weeks, blood samples were collected and following the serum collection, levels of LH, FSH, estradiol and progesterone were measured using the radioimmunoassay method.

Results: The serum levels of LH or FSH did not significantly change in cigarette or waterpipe smoke receiving rats compared with the control group. However, serum levels of estradiol and progesterone in rats exposed to cigarette smoke as well as serum estradiol level in rats exposed to waterpipe smoke were significantly decreased compared with the control group (P<0.001).

Conclusion: It seems that exposure to cigarette smoke has a higher inhibitory effect than waterpipe smoke on female reproductive system and unlike waterpipe smoke, which only results in decreased serum progesterone levels, cigarette smoke results in decreased levels of both estradiol and progesterone.

Background: Lithium is one of the elements of the alkali metal family used in pharmaceutical formulations, which can be used for the treatment of mental disorders, hypothyroidism and depression. This study aimed to determine the chronic effects of lithium on the estrogen, progesterone, FSH, LH hormones and ovarian follicles in adult female Wistar rats.

Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 40 adult female rats were divided into five groups of 8 rats, including control, sham and three experimental groups receiving intraperitoneal doses of 60, 120 and 180 mg/kg lithium carbonate for 21 days, respectively. At the end of the third week, and after taking the blood samples to measure estrogen, progesterone, FSH and LH hormones, the rats' ovaries were removed and after the preparation and staining of the tissue sections, the follicles were counted.

Results: The results showed that lithium significantly caused to increase the number of atresia follicles and also decrease primordial, primary, and secondary follicles, graphs, corpus luteum and estrogen, progesterone, FSH and LH hormones (P&le;0.05).

Conclusion: According to the results of the current study, the use of lithium can increase atresia follicles and decrease other follicles and corpus luteum in adult female rats, and probably due to the reduction of follicles and corpus luteum, the sexual hormone levels are also decreased.

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) that afflicts 10 percent of infertile women   is the most important reason for the cessation of ovulation. So the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of hydro-alcoholic extract of Aloe vera L. on the treatment of PCOS in rat.

Materials and Methods: This experimental study was carried out on Wistar rats (n=35, weight: 180±20 g) with 2-3 consecutive estrous cycle. Then rats were divided to 5 groups: Control group; PCOS group (Stradiolvalerate 4 mg/kg/im); Experimental 1,2 and 3 groups (Stradiolvalerate 4 mg/kg/im+Aloe vera L. extract 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg/ip, respectively). After 21 days blood samples were taken to measure the concentration of estrogen and progesterone hormones. Findings were analyzed using ANOVA and Duncan statistical tests at the significant level of P<0.05.

Results: The results showed a significant increment in PCOS group and decrement in the Experimental 2 and 3 groups in estrogen concentration compared to the Control group, respectively (P<0.05). The concentration of progesterone hormone in PCOS group and the Experimental groups were significantly decreased compared to the Control group (P<0.05).

Conclusions: The hydro-alcoholic extract of Aloe vera L. decreased and increased the concentration of estrogen and progesterone hormone in rat, respectively. So it appears that the use of Aloe vera L. would be effective in the treatment of infertility disorders and PCOS.