Drug and Medicine
A drug can slow prostate cancer at an early stage
Dutasteride, a drug currently used to combat inflammation of the prostate gland, has proven effective in delaying the progression of prostate cancer when detected early. Here we tell you more details on this finding, and why it is important to have controls to detect this cancer.
The mere mention of the word cancer causes great distress, and that this disease strikes indiscriminately, regardless or gender or age. For men, prostate cancer ranks among the top worldwide: it is estimated that each year are found around 900 000 cases of this cancer and, at the same time period, prostate cancer kills about 260 thousand.
According to a new study, published in the Jan. 25 online issue of The Lancet, a drug called dutasteride (Avodart ®), currently used to treat men suffering from benign prostatic hypertrophy or call enlarged prostate gland, may help reduce the development of prostate cancer, when detected early. Read the rest of this entry »
Treatment for Heroin Addiction
There are a variety of treatment options for heroin addiction, including medications and include behavioral therapy. Science has taught us that when combined drug therapy with other support services, often the patient can stop using heroin (or other opiate) and return to a more stable and productive life.
Methadone, a synthetic opiate medication that blocks the effects of heroin for about 24 hours, has a history of proven success when prescribed in doses high enough for 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.
Buprenorphine is the newest addition to the range of drugs available to treat addiction to heroin and other opiates. This drug differs from methadone in that it offers less risk of addiction and can be dispensed in the privacy of the doctor’s office. There are also several other drugs being studied for use in treatment programs for addiction to heroin. Read the rest of this entry »
Heroin: Tolerance and Addiction
The regular heroin use produces tolerance to the drug, which means that the user has to use more heroin to achieve the same intensity of effect. This use of higher doses has, over time, physical dependence and addiction. With physical dependence, the body adapts to the presence of the drug and can suffer withdrawal symptoms if use is reduced or discontinued.
Withdrawal, which in regular abusers may occur as quickly as a few hours after the last dose of the drug, among other symptoms, triggers a strong craving for heroin use, as well as agitation, muscle aches and the bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea and vomiting, cold flashes with goose bumps (“cold turkey” or “cold break”), and in the form of kicking movements (“kicking the habit”, which literally means “kicking the habit”). Read the rest of this entry »
Heroin
Heroin is an addictive drug whose use is a serious problem in the United States. Heroin is derived from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seed pod of the poppy, also known as the Asian poppy. Heroin usually appears as white or brown powder. Street names associated with this drug include “pasta”, “H”, “white lady”, “white” and “lenguazo” in Spanish and “smack”, “H”, “skag” and “junk” in English. Other names may refer to types of heroin produced in a specific geographic area, such as “Mexican black tar” (“Mexican black tar”).
Health Hazards
Heroin abuse is associated with serious health consequences, including fatal overdose, spontaneous abortion, collapsed veins and, particularly for users who inject the drug, infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. Read the rest of this entry »
Phencyclidine: Health Hazards
PCP is addictive, that is, repeated use can lead to drug craving and compulsive PCP-seeking behavior of it. The PCP was first introduced as a drug sales on the street in the sixties, and quickly gained a reputation as a drug that could cause adverse reactions, not worth the risk. After using PCP once, many people do not deliberately eat again. Meanwhile, others attribute their continued abuse to feelings of strength, power, invulnerability and a numbing effect on the mind.
Many people who abuse PCP come to the emergency room from an overdose or unpleasant psychological effects of the drug. Within the hospital or a detention center, these people often become violent or suicidal, a serious danger to himself and others. They should be kept in a quiet, never left alone.
At low to moderate doses, physiological effects of PCP include a slight increase in respiratory rate and a pronounced rise in blood pressure and heart rate. Breathing becomes shallow, and flushing and profuse sweating. It can also occur Generalized numbness of the limbs and loss of muscle coordination. Read the rest of this entry »
Phencyclidine
PCP (phencyclidine) was first manufactured in the fifties as an intravenous anesthetic. Its use in humans was discontinued in 1965 because patients often became agitated, delusional and irrational while recovering from its anesthetic effects. The PCP is illegally manufactured in labs and sold on the street names as ”angel dust”, “ozone”, “wack” and “rocket fuel”. When combined with marijuana, is known by the names of dead and superyerba glass joints (“killer joints” and “crystal supergrass” in English). The variety of street names for PCP reflects its bizarre and volatile effects.
PCP is a “dissociative drug,” which means that distorts perceptions of sight and hearing impairments producing a feeling of being separated or “disassociated” from the environment and oneself. The dissociative drugs act by altering distribution of the neurotransmitter glutamate in the brain. The glutamate is involved in pain perception, responses to the environment and memory. Read the rest of this entry »
Ecstasy
MDMA (3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is a synthetic, psychoactive drug chemically similar to the stimulant methamphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline. Street names for MDMA include Ecstasy, Adam, XTC, hug, beans, and love drug. It is estimated that in the United States in 2003, about 470,000 people over 12 years used MDMA in the 30 days prior to the date they were surveyed, a significant decrease compared to 2002.
Research in animals indicates that MDMA is neurotoxic; whether it is or not in humans is currently an area of ??intense research. MDMA can also be dangerous to health and, in rare instances, can be fatal.
MDMA exerts its primary effects on neurons in the brain that use the chemical serotonin to communicate with other neurons. The serotonin system plays an important role in regulating mood, aggression, sexual activity, sleep, and sensitivity to pain. Read the rest of this entry »
Cocaine and Crack: Treatment
Added Danger: Cocaethylene
When people mix cocaine with alcohol, are compounding the danger each one of these drugs and, unwittingly, in their own bodies perform a complex chemical experiment. Several NIDA-funded researchers have found that combining cocaine and alcohol use, the human liver manufactures a third substance, cocaine ethylene, that intensifies cocaine’s euphoric effects and potentially increase the risk of sudden death.
Treatment
The widespread abuse of cocaine has stimulated extensive efforts to develop treatment programs for this type of abuse. Read the rest of this entry »
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Cocaine and Crack
Cocaine is a powerfully addictive stimulant drug. The hydrochloride salt, the powdered form of cocaine can be snorted or dissolved in water and injected. Crack is cocaine that has not been neutralized by an acid to make the hydrochloride salt. This form of cocaine comes in a rock crystal that can be heated and its vapors smoked. The term “crack” refers to the crackling sound heard when the crystals are heated .
No matter the form or frequency of use, the user is exposed to cocaine have an acute cardiovascular or cerebrovascular emergencies, such as a heart attack or stroke (the latter also known as stroke, embolism, which can result in sudden death. The cocaine-related deaths are often the result of a cardiac arrest or seizure followed by respiratory arrest. Read the rest of this entry »