Drug Addiction Treatment

Posts Tagged ‘Cocaine’

After being processed for the first time in the nineteenth century, cocaine was used as a local anesthetic and to treat neuralgia, alcoholism or melancholy, but soon ceased to be used for medical purposes, checking their side effects and its addictive properties. However, illicit stimulant consumption has been steadily growing since the 60′s causing a complex health problem: an addiction to cocaine or crack (cocaine processed to smoke), a disease that requires medical treatment. One of the main obstacles to the recovery of addicts who want to quit cocaine, is the so-called withdrawal. Another key aspect to stop using cocaine, hospital detoxification and abstinence control, key objectives responding to the question ‘how to quit cocaine?.

The withdrawal symptoms are because once in the brain, and as described above, cocaine affects the neurotransmitters, which control the flow of information between neurons that activate the behaviors and feelings in people. The cocaine and crack are mainly active in serotonergic and dopaminergic systems, blocking the transport of dopamine and causing it to stay free in large quantities, triggering feelings of pleasure and euphoria.

But prolonged use of cocaine or crack causes the brain to adapt to consumption, and reduce dopamine levels, so that the person whose brain has been accustomed to cocaine increasingly need to increase their consumption to obtain the same effects the first dose. This means that the cocaine has affected the brain neurotransmitters and has undergone changes in its circuit, so that only “normal” in the presence of cocaine.

In short, the body has become accustomed to the presence of cocaine in the brain as a stimulus for the activation of reward circuits and pleasure, and when it ceases the use of drugs, reward circuits lack the usual over-stimulation and therefore can not be activated. The result is the withdrawal symptoms and discomfort that is experienced as pleasure as opposed to, for low levels of dopamine: fatigue, depression and changes in the character, which often causes the consumers again seek cocaine to feel good. This process becomes the main obstacle to stop using cocaine.

Drugs shelter to all social strata. Great “personalities” are or have been drug addicts, characters who have occupied high positions and positions. Some have died as a result of this vice.

Unfortunately, and added that the help is very superficial, science has created a major barrier for recovering drug addict, so we see how some psychologists and physicians, as sincerely mistaken claim that drug addiction is a disease that causes chemical changes in the brain and that, like alcoholism, are incurable diseases.

I’ve only been …
Hello! Many years ago I have the habit of marijuana, I’ve spent a lot of money in vice and because of him I lost my family. I live alone. Through the service of marijuana met many people from poor gait. I went and participated in bank robberies, often loaded machine gun in those robberies. But despite everything bad I’ve been think God protected me, he never gave me anything, although the 13 band mates killed authority. I’ve only been me and almost got tired of this vice, I reunited with my family. His page on the drug has given me courage. Read the rest of this entry »

Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla, California) created a vaccine that has as main function to neutralize the effect of cocaine in mice and are preparing a version suitable for humans. In the laboratory model, the vaccine provided immunity to mice for a period of 13 weeks.

“Our very dramatic results show that we can protect mice from the effects (addictive) of cocaine, and we believe these ranges are very promising in the fight against addiction in humans,” said the director of research, Ronald Crystal.

The vaccine works as follows: create antibodies that neutralize the effects of cocaine that create addiction. This drug has the property to exceed the regular flow of blood and accumulates in the brain that creates a feeling of ecstasy that lasts several minutes. A co-researcher, Kim Jandra, said the vaccine “suppresses the stimulatory effects of cocaine.” He emphasized to clarify that the vaccine blocks the effects of cocaine before it reaches the brain. 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.

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 »

Drugs are chemicals that tap into the brain’s communication system and disrupt the way nerve cells normally send, receive, and process information. There are at least two ways that drugs are able to do this: (1) by imitating the brain’s natural chemical messengers, and/or (2) by overstimulating the “reward circuit” of the brain.

Some drugs, such as marijuana and heroin, have a similar structure to chemical messengers, called neurotransmitters, which are naturally produced by the brain. Because of this similarity, these drugs are able to “fool” the brain’s receptors and activate nerve cells to send abnormal messages.

Other drugs, such as cocaine or methamphetamine, can cause the nerve cells to release abnormally large amounts of natural neurotransmitters, or prevent the normal recycling of these brain chemicals, which is needed to shut off the signal between neurons. This disruption produces a greatly amplified message that ultimately disrupts normal communication patterns.

Nearly all drugs, directly or indirectly, target the brain’s reward system by flooding the circuit with dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter present in regions of the brain that control movement, emotion, motivation, and feelings of pleasure. The overstimulation of this system, which normally responds to natural behaviors that are linked to survival (eating, spending time with loved ones, etc.), produces euphoric effects in response to the drugs. This reaction sets in motion a pattern that “teaches” people to repeat the behavior of abusing drugs. 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.

It is a potent central nervous system stimulant and one of the most addictive and dangerous drugs. This is a drug that is obtained from the chemical processing of the leaves of the coca bush, there are different preparations such as powder cocaine or cocaine hydrochloride, is often consumed snorted or injected, sometimes mixed with heroin. There is also basuko or coca paste and crack or cocaine base.

Drug addicts often call by different names cocaine: coca, parakeet, farlopa, markets, white lady, snow. Its main effect is to increase the activity of the dopamine neurotransmitter system that modulates body processes, such as state motor excitation, increased activity, emotional changes, increased heart and respiratory rates. Its use can cause physical damage and brain, also causes addiction, brain bleeding, impotence, infertility, hallucinations and psychosis.

Addiction to alcohol, cannabis, cocaine and synthetic drugs is a problem facing society, understand their effects and help in preventing damage.

Drug use affects consumers, families, friends, coworkers. It is a problem that concerns the whole society. Although there are civil associations and NGOs to prevent and detect the problem, emphasis should be placed on the information to the public about the types of drugs, their myths, effects, and above all, how to prevent consumption.

Currently there are assistance programs that focus on prevention and awareness of society in the use of drugs, besides that it has sought to improve the system to diagnose and treat the problem in its infancy. As he advanced at the same time society is changing and what was for criminals and outcasts, as the drug, now linked with the culture of leisure and fun.

It has also sought to lower the damage on people who drink or are in the process of rehabilitation and to reintegrate into society and the workplace. However, although there are control and prevention measures, the society must not lower our guard.

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