[Preliminary research on opioid mutagenicity].

The aim of the study was a preliminary recognition of genotoxic effect of methadone, using a culture of lymphocytes obtained from the blood of 23 opiate dependent patients from methadone maintenance treatment programme conducted at the Department of Clinical Toxicology of Jagiellonian University Medical College. The micronuclei (MN) occurrence and the number of sister chromatids exchange in methaphasal plate were the examined markers of mutagenesis. Two control groups differently exposed to environmental mutagenic factors were used to verification of results. The increased fraction of cells with the high number of sister chromatids exchange (HFC) indicate on possible genotoxic effect of methadone, however in the populations exposed also to other mutagenic factors the effect is not so evident.