Drug Addiction Treatment

Archive for the ‘Types and Effects of Drugs’ Category

Addictions in general are a widespread problem and that plagues all social groups without distinction of any kind. The struggle against addiction equals a war for the multiple realities that are lived. We should all collaborate on it.

What is cocaine?
Cocaine is a white powder, which is derived from the coca plant, whose plants are grown mostly in South America. It stimulates the nervous system and suppresses hunger, leading to different actions in the body system. · Can snorted, taken orally, smoked or injected. Then there’s the crack cocaine or crystal as free base.

Effects of cocaine Read the rest of this entry »

They know all the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure in children, but there are many scientific studies show that babies whose mothers abused cocaine during pregnancy are often born prematurely and with less weight, height and girth head compared to babies born to mothers who use cocaine.

However, it is difficult to estimate the total impact of the consequences of maternal drug use and determine the specific risk to the fetus. Many factors contribute to the difficulty in determining the direct impact of maternal and child (both before and after birth) of cocaine during the pregnancy, which are typically difficult to measure. Some of these factors are the amount and the total number of mothers who abused drugs (including nicotine) received prenatal care, possible child abuse or neglect, exposure to violence, socioeconomic conditions, nutritional status maternal health problems and the possibility that the mother has been exposed to sexually transmitted diseases.

Many will recall that “crack babies” that is, babies born to mothers who used “crack” during pregnancy, had been declared by many as a lost generation. It portended that generation would suffer serious and irreversible damage, including reduced intelligence and social skills. It was later determined that this was a gross exaggeration. However, the fact that most of these children appear normal should not be interpreted as a sign that there is no reason for alarm.

Using advanced technologies, scientists are discovering that when the fetus is exposed to cocaine during the development period, changes can be small but very important for the future in some of these children, including deficits in some aspects of cognitive performance, information processing and attention to their tasks, which are important skills for the child to achieve their full potential.

The discovery could pave the way for developing new methods for the treatment of addiction.

The scientists used positron emission tomography, or PET, to measure brain metabolism of mice deficient in the dopamine transporter, and their normal siblings. In this technique, the researchers administered glucose (the chief brain fuel) radioactively labeled and used the PET scanner to track its concentration in different brain regions. Mice were examined before and after cocaine administration, and compared the results with those obtained in mice treated with saline instead of drugs.

After cocaine administration, cerebral metabolism was reduced in both groups of mice, but more significantly in normal.

The reduction was observed in many brain regions, probably because cocaine blocks the dopamine transporters. However, we also observed a reduction in metabolism in the thalamus region of the transporter-deficient mice. This effect is possibly due to the effect of cocaine on other neurotransmitter systems, such as serotonin or the norepinephrine.

In summary, the disorders on brain activity caused by cocaine are due, largely, to its action on dopamine, but also, to a lesser extent, its effect on norepinephrine or serotonin.

This finding will allow deeper into the understanding of the mechanism of cocaine addiction.

Heroin drug condition in the brain, causes and consequences of smoking, for parents, the source of the drug, how to prevent and everything about the drug heroin.

Heroin is an addictive drug whose use is a serious problem in the United States. Recent studies suggest that there has been a change in the way heroin is used, from injecting to inhaling or smoking it, because now you get a higher purity heroin and the prevailing misconception that these forms of employment are safer.
Heroin is a derivative of morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seed pod of the Asian poppy plant. Heroin usually appears as white or brown powder. Street names associated with this drug include “pasta”, “H”, “white lady”, “white” and “of tongue” in Spanish and “smack”, “H”, “skag,” and “junk” in English . Other names may refer to types of heroin produced in a specific geographical area, such as “Mexican black tar” (“Mexican black tar.”)
Health Hazards
Heroin abuse is associated with serious health consequences, including fatal overdose, spontaneous abortion, occlusion of the veins and, particularly for users who inject the drug, infectious diseases, including HIV / AIDS and hepatitis.
The short-term effects of heroin abuse appear soon after the first dose and disappear in a few hours. After an injection of heroin, the user says he feels an outbreak of euphoria (a “rush”) accompanied by a warmredness of the skin, dry mouth and heavy extremities. After this initial euphoria, the user goes to a feeling of flying (“on the nod”), a state in which alternates between being fully awake and doze. The mental faculties are troubled because of the central nervous system depression. The long-term effects of heroin appear after using the drug repeatedly for some period of time. Chronic users may suffer from collapsed veins, infection of the endocardium and heart valves, abscesses, cellulitis, and liver disease. Pulmonary complications can include various types of pneumonia as a result of poor state of health of the abuser, as well as the heroin’s depressing effects on respiration.
Heroin abuse during pregnancy together with its many associated environmental factors (eg, lack of prenatal care), has been linked to adverse consequences including low birthweight, a major risk factor for later developmental delays .
Besides the effects of the drug itself, the heroin sold on the street may have additives that do not dissolve easily and cause a blockage in the blood vessels to the lungs, liver, kidneys or brain. This can cause infection or even death of small patches of cells in these vital organs.
Alert Network on Drug Abuse (DAWN, by its initials in English) * records to heroin / morphine among the four most frequently mentioned drugs in cases of drug-related deaths in 2002. Across the country, mentions of visits to emergency rooms related to heroin remained statistically unchanged between 2001 and 2002, but have risen 35 percent since 1995.

Tolerance, addiction and abstinence
Regular use of heroin produces drug tolerance, which means that the user has to use a larger amount of heroin to achieve the same intensity of effect. This use of higher doses over time leads to physical dependence and addiction. With physical dependence, the body adapts to the presence of the drug and may suffer withdrawal symptoms if use is reduced or discontinued.

The withdrawal syndrome, which in regular abusers may occur as quickly as a few hours after the last dose of the drug, causes using heroin craving, restlessness, muscle aches and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting, cold flashes with goose bumps (“cold turkey” or “cold break”), kicking movements in the form of (“kicking the habit”) and other symptoms. The main symptoms of this syndrome reaches its peak between 48 and 72 hours after the last dose and subside after about a week. Although withdrawal from heroin is considered less dangerous than alcohol or barbiturates, can occasionally be deadly when a drug addict with a strong dependency on drugs and poor health leaves abruptly.

Treatment
There are a variety of treatment options for heroin addiction, among which include medications and behavioral therapy. Science has taught us that when combined treatment with other drug-based support services, often the patient can stop using heroin (or other opiates) and return to a more stable and productive life.

In November 1997, the National Institutes of Health (NIH, for its acronym in English) convened a Consensus Panel on Effective Medical Treatment of Heroin Addiction. The panel of national experts concluded that opiate drug addictions are brain diseases and medical conditions that in fact it can be treated effectively. The panel strongly recommended (1) greater access to programs, methadone maintenance treatment for people addicted to heroin or other opiate drugs, and (2) the elimination of federal and state regulations and other barriers that prevent access these programs. The panel also stressed the importance of providing psychological counseling for substance abuse, psychosocial therapies and other patient support services that promote retention and success of treatment programs, methadone maintenance.

Methadone, a synthetic opiate medication that blocks the effects of heroin for about 24 hours, has a history of proven success when prescribed in high enough doses to people addicted to heroin. Other approved medications are naloxone, which is used to treat cases of overdose, and naltrexone, both work by blocking the effects of morphine, heroin and other opiates.
For pregnant women who abuse heroin, methadone maintenance combined with prenatal care and a comprehensive treatment program for drug abuse can improve many of the adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes associated with heroin abuse without treatment. There is preliminary evidence that buprenorphine also is safe and effective in treating heroin dependence during pregnancy, although infants exposed to methadone or buprenorphine during pregnancy typically require treatment for withdrawal symptoms. For women unwilling or unable to receive pharmacotherapy for their heroin addiction, detoxification from opiates during pregnancy can be accomplished with relative safety, although it is also necessary to consider the likelihood of relapse into use of heroin.

Buprenorphine is a recent addition to the range of drugs that are now available to treat addiction to heroin and other opiates. This medicine is different from methadone because it offers less risk of addiction and can be dispensed in the privacy of a doctor. They also are studying several other medicines for use in treatment programs for heroin addiction.

Heroin is a drug highly addictive and illegal in most countries. Belongs to opiates, which is the most abused and fastest-acting and is classified as those within the substance of the central nervous system depressant. Heroin is made ​​from morphine, a substance found naturally in the ducts lactirífaros capsule of Papaver somniferum or opium poppy, from which is extracted using shallow cuts where oozing latex (opium). Usually sold as a white or brownish powder or as a black sticky substance known on the streets as “glue” or “black tar.”

In 1883, Heinrich Dreser (chemical), isolated a new opioid by acetylation of morphine hydrochloride, getting diacetylmorphine, which is the scientific name for heroin. Interestingly, in principle thought of heroin as a substitute for morphine, which produced great addition, and for that reason he chose his name. Soon it was shown that addiction caused by using this compound was much more intense in comparison with morphine.

Some are natural opiates (morphine, opium and codeine) and others are synthetic, ie produced in the laboratory from poppy (Demerol, methadone, etc.)..

Heroin is an opiate semi – synthetic: it is produced from morphine through a chemical process and is approximately 3 times stronger than this.

Heroin can be in the form of white powder or as a paste or glue brown (depending on the origin and development process that has had).

Effects of heroin
The short-term effects of heroin abuse appear soon after the first dose and disappear in a few hours. After an injection of the drug, the user says he feels an outbreak of euphoria (“rush”) accompanied by a warm flushing of the skin, dry mouth and heavy extremities. After this initial euphoria, the user is “flying” (“on the nod”), a state in wakefulness alternating with drowsiness and mental faculties are troubled because of the central nervous system depression.

Heroin causes the following effects: sedation, euphoria, analgesia, respiratory depression (leading cause of death by overdose of this substance users), lightning suppression of cough (Bayer advertising in the 20 highlights this fact), miosis nausea and vomiting, gastrointestinal effects, cardiovascular, kidney, urinary.

The effect of inhaled cocaine is a problematic disease in public health. The risks and harms associated with inhaled cocaine effect varies with the intensity of addiction. Furthermore, it is necessary to take into account the personal variables such as degree of motivation, knowledge or experience in the use of cocaine effect of inhaled, and the specific properties of effect of inhaled cocaine as well as the influence of the elements adulterants.

What makes the effect of inhaled cocaine is a harmful addiction is that it turns against oneself and others. At the beginning of effect of inhaled cocaine apparently get some gratification, as a habit. But soon his behavior begins to have negative consequences in your life. Addictive behaviors of cocaine effect of inhaled produce pleasure, relief and other compensation in the short term but cause pain, disaster, desolation and a multitude of problems in the medium term. In the next section you will find information about the effects of inhaled cocaine effect.

What is cocaine?
Cocaine is a strong central nervous system stimulant that interferes with the reabsorption process of dopamine, a chemical messenger associated with pleasure and movement. The buildup of dopamine causes continuous stimulation of neurons “receiving”, which is associated with euphoria. However, the body reacts by producing depressants causing a strong emotional withdrawal (dysphoria) which requires the person to the effect of inhaled cocaine to consume more and more cocaine. Read the rest of this entry »

Cocaine is one of the many drugs that act on the central nervous system. It works as a stimulator, in addition to suppressing sleep, hunger. Cocaine is an alkaloid derived from the coca plant, called Coca Erythroxylon. Their discovery, from the time of isolation of cocaine hydrochloride, and pure cocaine was used as an anesthetic in the mid-nineteenth century. After finding cases of addiction through the use of cocaine, was taken off the market. Likewise, today its still used as an anesthetic for certain surgical procedures in some countries in Europe.

Anyway, there is a legal drug, it is an illicit drug, used in different countries around the world as a recreational drug, from the eighties with greater impact. The coca plant is a common flat in certain areas of South America, including Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and northern Argentina.

The use of the plant, appears from the past and remains to this day. The most commonly used form, since those times, is to chew the leaves. In many cases, was and is used as energizing and support for specific efforts and discomforts of alpine areas. Read the rest of this entry »

What medications are commonly used in children with asthma?
The use of drugs in children is highly individualized and based on the severity of the child’s symptoms, age of the child and the child’s ability to take inhaled medications. The following are the most commonly used medications:

Bronchodilators
These medications are used to counteract the effect of narrowing in the lungs and may relieve coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing. These are usually considered “rescue medications” for acute attacks of asthma. Beta agonists, theophylline and anticholinergics are types of bronchodilators. These drugs are available in pills, liquid, inhaled or injected.

The short-acting bronchodilators are used as needed when symptoms occur. Long-acting bronchodilators can be used for maintenance or daily to help control outbreaks.
Anti-inflammatory drugs
These medications help reduce inflammation that occurs in the airways. These include two types of medications:

Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
Cromolyn and nedocromil are two examples of this type of medication that children are usually inhaled. Read the rest of this entry »

The effects on major organ systems are cumulative and include lesions that may be partially reversible with abstinence and others that are kept indefinitely.

Chronic alcohol intake can damage the central nervous system permanently. Persistent amnestic disorders occur that cause learning difficulties (Korsakoff syndrome), ataxia and paralysis associated with ocular confusion (Wernicke), severe memory disturbances, dementia and chronic psychiatric disorders such as anxiety, hallucinations, delusions and disorders mood (sadness). Acute ingestion also produces disorders of coordination, balance, sleep and episodes of amnesia. The peripheral nervous system lesions, such as tingling, paresthesias and numbness of the extremities, are related to vitamin B1 deficiency.

The consumption of acute and chronic alcohol also produces a wide range of alterations in the digestive system, among which esophagitis, gastritis, presence of gastroesophageal tears violent vomiting, the appearance of gastroduodenal ulcers and acute pancreatitis. In addition, consumption of alcohol may cause severe liver damage (ALD). At first, the fat accumulates in the cells of this organ and the liver is enlarged, but in most cases, no symptoms. Some people develop alcohol-induced hepatitis, which causes inflammation and death of liver cells (hepatocytes) and is manifested by jaundice in the eyes and skin. In 20% of alcoholics appears to cirrhosis, irreversible condition in which normal liver tissue is replaced by fibrous tissue, producing a very severe impairment of liver function. Read the rest of this entry »

Cocaine, a stimulant, mimics the effects of chemicals produced in the brain to send messages of pleasure, reward center in the brain. Like adrenaline, cocaine increases heart rate, blood pressure and respiration rate. Feelings when arousal is too high, anxiety, paranoia, hallucinations, and anger can produce progress on the potentially fatal attacks and stroke.

Treatments for Drug addiction vary on many factors including the severity and duration of symptoms, the amount of damage caused by cocaine, and recovery. The most common symptoms of addiction are generally noted the desire for drugs, irritability, loss of energy, depression, anxiety, tremors want too much or insomnia, nausea and palpitations, sweating, hyperventilation, increased appetite and sleep. These symptoms can usually take several weeks – even after cessation of cocaine.

Drugs for treating cocaine addiction are not yet available, although researchers are working feverishly to identify and test new features. The drug appears to be promising experimental selegiline force still needs an appropriate method of administration. Disulfiram, a drug used to treat alcoholism, has proved to be somewhat “effective in the treatment of cocaine abuse during clinical trials. Antidepressants are prescribed primarily to treat mood swings, usually cocaine withdrawal. Treatments have been developed to deal with an overdose of cocaine.

Edits, such as cognitive behavioral skills to adapt to be effective in treating cocaine addiction, but there are only a short-term approach that focuses on the learning process. Behavioral therapy to help patients recognize, prevent and treat conditions that lead to use cocaine again.

This treatment is dedicated doctors, nurses and therapists, treatment programs to recognize the severity of addiction. On the basis that treatment programs provide well-documented medical techniques, the best choice for patients of all types of treatment available.