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European health authorities are on alert for the appearance of a new drug. A 43-year-old man has become the first in the United Kingdom associated with xylacin, according to research by researchers at King's College London (United Kingdom).

Xylacine is a sedative, analgesic and non-opiate muscle relaxant used in veterinary medicine as a tranquilizer for large animals. The drug, known as 'tranq' or 'tranq dope' when cut with heroin and fentanyl, is causing widespread problems in the United States because it can dangerously reduce breathing and heart rate.

According to their findings, published in the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, this man died in May 2022 from the effects of xylacine along with heroin, fentanyl and cocaine.

If injected directly into the user's bloodstream, it reduces the need to get high again, but can lead to the formation of large open skin ulcers, which has led to the nickname of the 'zombie' drug.

The study details the death of a 43-year-old man with a history of illegal drug use, mainly heroin and crack. He had been referred to addiction services on several occasions, but did not go to them.

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The external and internal autopsy found no signs of disease, but puncture wounds to the groin. In post-mortem toxicology, eight drugs were found in both blood and urine, and another three in urine.

Of these drugs detected, all but paracetamol have psychoactive properties. The coroner determined the cause of death to be acute aspiration pneumonitis, a condition often caused by inhaling toxins. Xylacine was also listed on the death certificate as a contributing factor to his death.

"This is a really worrying drug that has not been detected before in the UK. It is likely that this person bought heroin without knowing that it was laced with xylacine and fentanyl. This drug is not included in routine drug testing in the UK, so we don't know how widespread the xylacin problem is," said lead study author Caroline Copeland, from King's College London and director of the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths.

On November 8, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a statement alerting healthcare professionals to the increasing prevalence of xylacine in illegal drug overdoses occurring nationwide, with a prevalence of 7% of total overdose deaths in the United States. In some states, prevalence is as high as 26 percent.

  • United Kingdom
  • Europe
  • London

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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