[Micronuclei as markers of DNA damage in patients addicted to opioid drugs].

The goal of the study was to examine the influence of methadone maintenance treatment programme on instances of DNA damage manifested in the micronuclei. The material of the study (cultures of lymphocytes from peripheral blood) obtained from 12 opiate dependent patients was taken two times: at the start of and during the course of a methadone programme conducted at the Department of Clinical Toxicology of the Jagiellonian University's Medical College. The observed decrease in the number of micronuclei indicates that this type of treatment in conjunction with appropriate life style changes on the part of the subjects reduces the risk of genomic lesions.