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Types of Addiction

Differences Between Amphetamine and Methamphetamine

Posted on May 23, 2013 in Stimulants

Differences Between Amphetamine and MethamphetamineAmphetamine and methamphetamine are stimulant drugs that change normal function in the brain and body by altering levels of naturally occurring substances called neurotransmitters. The two drugs are so closely related that methamphetamine turns into amphetamine when it starts to break down inside the bloodstream. However, despite their similarities, the two drugs have different levels of potency and work in somewhat different ways inside the body. In addition, while doctors commonly use amphetamine-based prescription medications for the treatment of certain health problems, use of methamphetamine-based prescription medications is much less common.

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New Treatment Blocks the Addictive Effects of Opioid Drugs

Posted on May 21, 2013 in Prescription Drug Addiction

New Treatment Blocks the Addictive Effects of Opioid DrugsOpioids (also known as narcotics or opiates) are a group of natural and synthetic drugs that produce euphoria and block the sensation of pain by altering normal function in parts of the body that include the brain and spinal cord. Unfortunately, because of specific changes they make in the brain, both legal and illegal opioids are frequent subjects of drug abuse and drug addiction. In 2012, researchers from Australia’s University of Adelaide discovered that a medication—called (+)-naloxone or plus-naloxone—can potentially block the addictive effects of opioid drugs while still permitting the beneficial pain-relieving effects of morphine and other narcotic medications.

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Methamphetamine Use and Brain Aneurysm

Posted on May 20, 2013 in Stimulants

Brain AneurysmA brain aneurysm is a weakening in the wall of a brain artery that causes that wall to balloon or bulge abnormally. If an artery weakened in this manner bursts open inside the brain, it will trigger a life-threatening form of bleeding called an intracranial hemorrhage. A number of different types of aneurysms can appear at different locations inside the skull. Use of the illegal drug methamphetamine can potentially lead to the development of a form of brain aneurysm known as a berry aneurysm.

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Methadone Overdose

Posted on May 19, 2013 in Prescription Drug Addiction

Methadone OverdoseMethadone is an opioid (narcotic) medication largely known for its use in withdrawal from heroin and other opioid drugs of abuse. In people without opioid addictions, doctors increasingly use the medication as a treatment for moderate to severe pain that doesn’t respond to more basic, non-opioid options. While methadone prescriptions make up only 2 percent of all opioid painkiller prescriptions written in the US, roughly one-third of all people who die from an opioid painkiller overdose are methadone users. Underlying reasons for this fact include methadone’s effects on the central nervous system and the way in which the medication accumulates in the body over time.

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Effects of MDMA (Ecstasy) Use During Pregnancy

Posted on May 18, 2013 in Designer Drugs

Effects of MDMA (Ecstasy) Use During PregnancyMDMA (Ecstasy) is a stimulant drug related to amphetamine that produces some of the mind-altering effects more commonly linked to the use of drugs called hallucinogens. When pregnant women use MDMA, it passes from the maternal bloodstream and enters the bloodstream of the developing fetus. Current evidence from both animal and human testing indicates that fetal exposure to MDMA can lead to a number of potential problems, including altered brain development in the first trimester of pregnancy, changes in newborn behavior related to this alteration, and delayed development of normal motor function (coordinated muscle movement) in the middle and latter stages of pregnancy.

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Effects of Marijuana Use During Pregnancy

Posted on May 17, 2013 in Marijuana Addiction

Effects of Marijuana Use During PregnancyDuring pregnancy, women who smoke marijuana expose their developing fetuses to the drug when it passes to the fetal bloodstream inside the placenta. There is considerable disagreement among medical professionals about the impact of marijuana on fetal development, in part because women who use the drug also commonly use other substances that can alter the development process. Still, current evidence indicates that use of marijuana during pregnancy can potentially produce negative effects on the viability of that pregnancy, as well as negative effects on the long-term learning capabilities of children exposed to the drug in the womb.

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What Is The Difference Between Dry Drunk and Sober?

Posted on May 16, 2013 in Alcohol Addiction

When asked what ‘sobriety’ means, most people-even former addicts-will respond that it is the condition of abstaining from alcohol or other addictive substances and behaviors. When asked to define a ‘dry drunk,’ the same respondents may answer ‘a person who abstains from alcohol or other addictive substances and behaviors but who is not sober.’

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Development of a Heroin Vaccine

Posted on May 15, 2013 in Heroin

Development of a Heroin VaccineVaccination is the general term doctors use to describe a process that protects the body from an infectious illness by preemptively introducing a weaker form of the illness in order to prepare and stimulate the immune system. The key to this process is the immune system’s ability to produce specialized proteins, called antibodies, which chemically “tag” the source of the illness for future reference and rapid response. Currently, researchers from several institutions are using the vaccine model to produce a treatment that blocks the effects of the illegal, addictive street drug heroin.

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Naltrexone Implants for Heroin Addiction

Posted on May 14, 2013 in Heroin

Naltrexone is an anti-opioid medication that blocks the psychoactive effects of heroin and other legal and illegal opioid narcotic substances. Some doctors use this medication as part of a larger approach for addressing relapse risks in recovering opioid addicts. Current evidence indicates that use of naltrexone may also be beneficial to people with active heroin addictions who want to stop using the drug without the help of opioid-containing treatments such as Subutex or methadone. Because of its relatively low-maintenance requirements for treatment compliance, a long-lasting naltrexone implant typically produces better overall results than oral forms of naltrexone.

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The Health Effects of Powdered Cocaine Vs. the Health Effects of Crack Cocaine

Posted on May 13, 2013 in Cocaine

The Health Effects of Powdered Cocaine Vs. the Health Effects of Crack CocaineCocaine is an addictive stimulant produced mainly in the northern portions of South America and shipped illegally to the US and other countries throughout the world. Cocaine manufacturers typically ship the drug in a powdered form known as cocaine hydrochloride. Through a specific chemical process, drug distributors sometimes turn this powdered substance into another rock-like substance commonly known as “crack” or crack cocaine. While all cocaine produces roughly the same basic mind-altering effects inside the brain, cocaine hydrochloride and crack cocaine have a variety of different secondary effects that produce distinctive changes in human health.

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