New and re-emerging Abused Drugs

September 27, 2014

New and re-emerging Abused Drugs

Prescription-Drug-Abuse The greatest challenge for physicians today is to be up to par with the new and remerging drugs of abuse. The problem is the law enforcers have declared certain drugs that were perceived to have medicinal qualities into illegal drugs. Most of these drugs are those used in cooling pain. Having these drugs classified as illegal has led to many street doctors to adopt ways through which they can continue using such drugs without being at loggerheads with the law enforcers and that has led to mixing certain substances with these drugs in a bid to conceal what the real contents of the drugs are. They have also branded this drugs with strange names all in a in a bid to hide them from the law enforcers. The packages of these drugs are written as ‘not for human consumption’ among other strange names that has been given to these new and re-emerging drugs of abuse to enable them trade safe. Emerging drugs of abuse are forever changing and involve manipulation of basic chemical structures to avoid legal ramifications. The structural changes are important to those dealing in these drugs as they help them evade forensic chemical tests hurdles. The names given to these drugs may not even have a relation to their contents and so not as important as understanding the classes of these drugs. Most of the synthetic new drugs of abuse result in psychoactive and sympathomimetic effects.

For emphasis this needs to be repeated many of these drugs are marketed as “legal highs despite being labeled “not for human consumption” to avoid regulation. The availability of these substances over the Internet and in “head shops” has led to a multitude of emergency department visits with severe complications including deaths worldwide. Today there are still new drugs of abuse that are not yet known by physicians. The drugs are not easy to tame since even the slightest alterations of the basic chemical structure of substances create an entirely new drug no longer regulated by current laws and an ever-changing landscape of clinical effects. The purity of each substance with exact pharmacokinetic and toxicity profiles is largely unknown hence very dangerous to the users. Some of these drugs that are being abused greatly today hence not very easy to tame are piperazines.

Piperazines

Piperazines have often been referred to as failed pharmaceuticals. This is because some had been evaluated as potential therapeutic agents by pharmaceutical companies but never brought to the market .One piperazine that has been commonly used as NPS is 1-benzylpiperazine (BZP) though other piperazine derivatives have also been reported to be useful in medicine. These include among others 1-(3-chlorophenyl) piperazine (mCPP), 1-(3-trifluoromethylphenyl) piperazines (TFMPP), 1-benzyl-4-methylpiperazine (MBZP), 1-(4-fluorophenyl) piperazines (pFPP) and 1-cyclohexyl-4-(1,2-diphenylethyl) piperazine (MT-45).

BZP itself was initially developed as a potential antidepressant drug, but was found to have similar properties to amphetamine and therefore liable to abuse. In the 1980s, it was used in Hungary to manufacture piberaline, a substance marketed as an antidepressant. This substance was later withdrawn since it was thought liable to abuse as well. In the late 1990s, BZP emerged in New Zealand as a ‘legal alternative’ for MDMA and methamphetamine. In Europe, its use was first reported in Sweden in 1999, but it only became widespread as a NPS from 2004 onwards until controls over the substance were introduced in 2008, in the European Union. mCPP was developed during the late 1970s and is used as an intermediate in the manufacture of several antidepressants, e.g. trazodone and nefazodone. TFMPP is almost always seen in combination with BZP to produce the entactogenic effects of MDMA.

Neither BZP nor any other piperazines are under international control, although several (BZP, TFMPP, mCPP, MDBP) were pre-reviewed by the WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence in 2012. Several countries have introduced national control measures over piperazines. The control measures are however still challenged as those dealing in these drugs are adopting ways to beat the authorities in this trade. Piperazines are frequently sold as ‘ecstasy’. Some of the generic names for these substances include; pep pills, social tonics or simply as party pills.

These drugs are mostly used recreationally and two groups of these drugs feature here and these are benzylpiperazines and phenylpiperazines. Most of the pills sold as ecstasy and amphetamines have been found to contain components of Piperazines or its substitutes. They can also come as mixtures of more than one piperazine (such as BZP/TFMPP) or in combination with other drugs of abuse. Today Piperazines are some of the most common active substances found in Internet purchased drugs and they are majorly abused by young people.

Can adversely affect the users

Piperazines have been found to act as stimulants as a result of dopaminergic, noradrenergic, and predominantly serotoninergic effects produced in the brain. The majority of pharmacological studies of piperazines has focused on BZP and have indicated that it produces toxic effects similar to amphetamine and other sympathomimetics. According to animal studies, its effects are less potent than amphetamine, methamphetamine and MDMA. TFMPP, used in conjunction with BZP, has been reported to produce some of the effects of MDMA, but with a lower potency, while mCPP has been indicated to produce similar stimulant and hallucinogenic effects as MDMA.

In New Zealand, toxic seizures and respiratory acidosis after the use of BZP alone or in conjunction with other drugs were reported from three patients. Another study of 61 patients reported toxic effects of BZP, with two cases presenting life-threatening toxicity. Hyperthermia, rhabdomyolysis and renal failure associated with BZP ingestion have also been reported. In the United Kingdom, self-terminating grand mal seizures after the use of BZP have also been reported. All these findings prove how fatal the use of these drugs is and so should be avoided at all costs.

Finally, Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) is an experienced doctor who has been in the frontline fighting drug addiction. He runs a website that equips readers of better ways to overcome not only drug addiction but also serious health problems that have caused nightmares to the world population. Get in touch with her today and learn more.

New and re-emerging Abused Drugs

Opioids and Cancer

September 27, 2014

How the use of opioids disturbs the cancer balance

What are opiods?

There are several important things about opiods that you need to know at this stage. First, it is important to note that strictly speaking, the term ‘opioids’ is used to describe a group of chemical compounds that are defined by two important characteristics: having chemical action that is similar to that of morphine and being made of a distinct chemical structure. For many of the compounds that are categorized under this umbrella, their structures vary. Whereas some have distinct alkaloid structures, others occur in the form of peptides.

The second thing is about the occurrence of opioids. Naturally, opioids are found in two distinctive forms: occurring freely in the environment and within the body of human beings. Although initially the possibility of occurrence of opioids within the body of humans was strongly refuted, rigorous research has indicated that indeed the human brain contains specific endogenous opioids that play important role in different functions.

The third thing regards the interaction of opioids with complementary chemical compounds. Further studies have indicated that there are compounds whose actions contradict that of opioids. Known as antagonists, such compounds play a highly important role in their interaction with opioids in relation to influencing particular processes in the body. We shall examine this subject later.

How are opioids used?

For years, opioids have been used for a range of functions. Basically, the use of opioids has been in the form of morphine, which is a commonly occurring plant. Morphine has been used for medicinal as well as recreational purposes for long. Since the use of the plant for medicinal purposes is what matters with regard to our discussion, we shall focus on it.

At the commercial level, morphine has actually been used to relieve pain in chronically ill patients. Take cancer for example, the disease has been known to produce intense pain in patients. To relieve patients of this, morphine-based painkillers are extensively used. This is one common and formal way in which morphine (a common source of opioids) is used for commercial purposes.

The ability of opioids in general and morphine in particular to act as a strong analgesic has been a subject of research for long. Studies have indicated that the compounds have specific effects on the nervous system which translates to drastic reduction in pain. This explains the popularity of morphine-based painkillers as the standard therapy for cancer patients who have undergone an operation as part of the therapy or simply those in advanced stages of cancer.

Therefore, whether for recreation or medicinal use, opioids, have been extensively used to relieve cancer patients of pain in the course of treatment.

How opioids act

Basically, the action of opioids on the body can best be understood when you understand what opioid receptors are. Your body is made of special compounds which act as receptors for opioids. The receptors are distributed in several parts of your body, with many of them being in the central nervous system. It is this phenomenon that explains why opioids have a very strong effect on the nervous system. Others are distributed in different parts of your body such as the lungs, liver and other internal organs.

There are several types of receptors. It is the interaction between specific opioids and receptors that causes particular feelings in the body. Whereas some receptors are meant to trigger feelings of relief when they come into contact with opioids, others are designed to trigger changes in other physiological processes when opioids are introduced. The interaction between opioids and receptors is an important process when it comes to how opioids may disturb the cancer balance in the body.

How do opioids disturb cancer balance?

Simply put, cancer balance is a situation in which the process of metastasis, angiogenesis and invasion of healthy body cells by cancerous ones is completely inhibited. Research has indicated that use of opioids as painkillers can disturb this balance, thus leading to development of cancer in the body. On the other hand, other studies have indicated that morphine, in particular, may have anti-cancer properties by inhibiting the cancer development process mentioned above.

One way in which opioids used as painkillers can disturb the cancer balance is by altering the normal functioning of the immune system. Since cancer development largely depends on the state of the immune system, any compound that alters the immune system can indirectly influence the possible occurrence, development and spread of cancer. From several studies conducted, it can be concluded that particular opioids are able to alter the normal functioning of the immune system, thus exposing a patient on whom they are used to cancer development.

On the other hand, some studies have indicated that morphine is able to induce natural cell death and, as a result, control the growth of cancer cells in the body. However, this property, which highly depends on a number of different factors such as the concentration of the morphine that is used and the state of the opioid receptors in the body, remains a subject of research. What you need to know is that there has been concrete evidence to the effect that the use of opioids for relief of pain in cancer patients may actually disturb the cancer balance and trigger fresh development of cancer. This happens because of the effect that opioids have on the immune system of the patient in the form of production and inhibition of production of important hormones.

Concluding remarks

Here at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, we use the best approaches to administer alternative and complementary treatment of cancer to patients. Dr. Dalal Akoury is a specialist in this field. One thing, though, that sets her apart is her devotion to helping cancer patients successfully fight the devastating effects of the disease. Feel free to visit us in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for a completely personalized administration of alternative and complementary therapies for cancer.

How the use of opioids disturbs the cancer balance

Alternative Cancer Treatments

September 27, 2014

How alternative cancer medicine offers better ways for cancer treatment

In general, cancer treatment and care takes place in four different approaches. These are outlined as follows.

Cancer Preventive measures

Alternative The first approach to cancer management involves primary prevention. In this approach, the main objective is to prevent people from exposure to particular factors that have been found to be the causative agents of cancer. In general, many different types of cancers have been found to be triggered by continuous exposure to particular carcinogens. It then follows that by limiting the intensity of exposure to such factors, individuals will play a key role in preventing the development of cancer. Also, adopting lifestyles that limits the level of exposure to particular factors thought to contribute to cancer development has been touted as a worthy preventive measure against different forms of cancer.

Cancer Detection measures

At the root of effective cancer management is early detection. The primary concern for early detection is that some cancers can be effectively tackled if they are detected at an early stage. Whereas there may be few curative options for tackling highly advanced cancers, several curative measures remain options for cancers that are still in their early stage. By use of effective screening programs, early detection of cancer among populations is carried out as an important part of overall cancer treatment and management programs. After detection programs are used to identify cancer that is still at an early stage of development, effective intervention measures are instituted.

Cancer Diagnosis and treatment

Once a patient has been diagnosed with a particular type of cancer, special treatment therapies are used. The diagnosis is usually carried out in the form of special laboratory procedures and tests to determine the location, actual type and degree of progress of the cancer. Also, in determining what treatment option shall be used on a patient, several factors are taken into consideration. The most important one is the nature of the disease. It is only when the cancer has been fully understood that a particular treatment method can be used.

There are several therapies that are used in cancer treatment. In general terms, conventional therapies include procedures such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. These may be used either in isolation or in combination with other forms of treatment. The other forms of treatment include alternative therapies which make use of different forms of methods to complement what is done by conventional treatment.

Alternative cancer medicine and cancer treatment

The problem with cancer treatment arises from the fact that many cancer patients are diagnosed when it is already too late to effectively deal with the disease. This makes it difficult for many of the therapies to be used with positive outcomes. The good news, however, is that alternative cancer medicine has been used to successfully offer better ways of approaching the approaches used in cancer management: prevention, diagnosis, treatment and general care. These are discussed in the sections that follow.

Alternative cancer medicine in cancer prevention

There are several strategies that are used under alternative cancer medicine to help prevent the onset and development of cancer in patients. For instance different kinds of nutritional supplements are used to help the body of patients develop preventive mechanisms against possible development of cancer. The use of such food supplements is based on strong scientific evidence derived from rigorous studies carried out over a considerable length of time. There are several types of supplements that are used in this approach. For example, nutrients such as calcium and carotenoids have been found to be effective in helping the body prevent the development of cancer. Other natural products such as garlic, green tea and folic acid have been successfully used as natural methods of preventing the development of different types of cancers.

Alternative cancer medicine in cancer treatment

The bulk of the importance of alternative cancer medicine in overall cancer management has been on how the approach can be effectively used to enhance the effects of conventional therapies. The growth of alternative cancer medicine has been in this area and has been used to foster the overall effects of conventional treatment methods. It is important to note that it is uncommon to find alternative cancer treatments being used in isolation. What usually happens is that the therapies are used in conjunction with the other conventional therapies such as chemotherapy and surgery. The idea is to have both approaches complementing each other as a way of effectively treating cancer in patients.

One way in which alternative cancer medicine has been effectively used to complement conventional therapies has been in the use of natural supplements as a way of dealing with some of the most unpleasant effects of conventional treatments. Effects such as loss of weight, diarrhea, cell damage and other complications are common effects that patients suffer from when undergoing cancer treatment using conventional therapies. However, research and practice has proven the efficacy of a wide range of natural supplements in treating these effects. Supplements such as vitamins, ginger and other botanicals have been successfully used to counter such unpleasant effects thus boosting the overall outcome of cancer therapies in patients.

Alternative cancer medicine in care of cancer patients

Another area in cancer management in which use of alternative cancer medicine has been instrumental is in general palliative care. In general, after undergoing treatment, cancer patients need a specialized program for rehabilitation or general care. Here is where alternative cancer medicine has been widely used. There are several remedies and methods that have been used to enhance the physical and psychological; comfort of patients in this stage of cancer management. Practices such as yoga, meditation and aromatherapy have been used to provide psychological comfort for patients. On the other hand, acupuncture, message, rehabilitation and hydration have been successfully used to enhance the physical comfort of cancer patients.

Dr. Dalal Akoury of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Centre has been on the forefront of promoting the use of alternative cancer medicine in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and general care of cancer patients. Her training, experience and devotion have been notable by a wide clientele she has attended to. Regardless of the stage at which the disease is, we are ready to provide safe and effective natural methods to provide effective treatment and complete wellbeing to you.

How alternative cancer medicine offers better ways for cancer treatment

Fever Therapy as Used In Cancer Treatment

September 27, 2014

Fever Therapy and Cancer

A brief history of fever therapy

The idea of using fever as a curative method for various diseases dates back to thousands of years ago. Essentially, this method was used to treat a number of different diseases that were chronic at the time, like tuberculosis. The idea behind the method is simple. Fever of the body is seen as a natural means that the body uses to fight invading bacteria, fungi and other disease-causing microorganisms. Therefore, by stimulating fever, the body of an individual can manage to fight a number of diseases by simply slowing down the rate of growth of the microorganisms that are causing the disease. Stimulation of fever in patients was by use of special preparations.

Coley’s toxins as Alternative cancer treatment

Currently, fever therapy in cancer treatment is applied in the form of Coley’s Mixed Bacterial Vaccine. This is a form of treatment that is administered to patients intravenously. When administered to a patient, the vaccine causes a number of reactions that are prove to be beneficial after some time. First, a patient experiences high fever in the form a rise in body temperature, feelings of being nauseated and pain in some parts of the body. The symptoms that a patient experiences after it is administered are similar to those experienced in the classical case of a fever.

The most important observation that one makes when this treatment is used against cancer is that the location of the cancer becomes tender suddenly. This tenderness is an indication of the effect that the fever is having on the cancer cells. Usually, cancer cells are easily killed by heat as compared to healthy body cells. Therefore, the high body temperature that arises from fever is an effective means of killing them. This explains the feeling of tenderness at the place where the tumor is located that one experiences after this treatment is administered.

After the softness in the tumor region, a patient usually observes a drastic reduction in the extent of swelling at the area. Tumors are represented by swellings as a result of the uncontrollable division of cancerous cells. Therefore, the heat from the fever is able to kill the majority of cancer cells within the region, thus leading to a reduction in the size of the swelling.

How Coley’s toxins works as an Alternative cancer treatment

The observations that one makes when using this treatment are a reflection of complex biochemical activities that take place within the body of a patient. These are explained as follows. First, the ability of this treatment to reduce the extent of growth of cancer cells has been attributed to its ability to alter the functioning of the immune system. This happens in several interrelated ways. For example, the treatment has been known to stimulate the production of specific hormones that have been known to boost the way the immune system works in general. Since cancer thrives comfortably in an environment that is characterized by a weak immune system, boosting the overall strength of the immune system is an effective means of combating the rate of growth and development of cancer cells. This is one of the things that use of Coley’s Mixed Bacterial Vaccine achieves in the body of a patient.

Secondly, the efficacy of this treatment against cancer cells is as a result of its role in promoting the activities of lymphoid tissues in the body of a patient. The lymphoid tissues play a key role in stimulating the way the immune system works. Therefore, when the vaccine is administered to a cancer patient as part of alternative cancer treatment therapy, it triggers a fever which in turn stimulates the lymphoid glands to produce specific hormones like Interleukin2 that work to undermine progression of cancer in the body.

Lastly, Coley’s Mixed Bacterial Vaccine has been known to combat the growth and progression of cancer by accelerating the processes by which body cells remove toxic waste products. Since cancer develops in an environment in which there is a buildup in toxins such as lactic acid within the cells, this treatment reduces the possibility of further cancer development by ensuring that the cell environment is free of such toxins.

Side effects of Coley’s toxins as Alternative cancer treatment

Although Coley’s Mixed Bacterial Vaccine has been successfully used as part of a standard regimen for the treatment of different types of cancer, its use is not without side effects. There have been cases of patients experiencing headaches and pain in some parts of the body such as the back and chest. Practice however, has indicated that the side effects do clear with time.

Fever Another important thing to note about this treatment is that it is possible for it to interact with some other forms of therapies that may be used. Therefore, it is important for the person administering it to understand possible interaction between this therapy and other forms of therapy such as use of drugs.

Coley’s toxins therapy as an alternative treatment for cancer is available at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Centre in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Together with other forms of therapy, it is used as an alternative treatment for cancer in patients. Dr. Dalal Akoury has been in the practice of treating cancer patients using alternative and complementary therapies for years now. Contact her today for highly personalized and effective care.

Fever Therapy and Cancer

Cancer Vaccines
Coley’s Toxins and Alternative Cancer Treatment
Bacteria Used to Shrink And Eradicate Tumors
Direct antibody injection boosts cancer therapy
Natural Killer Cells Activated By Bacteria Also Fight Cancer
Can Doctors Teach the Body to Cure Cancer?

Ketamine Intoxication Abuse Could Lead To Dependence

September 26, 2014

Ketamine Intoxication Abuse and Dependence

Ketamine Intoxication Any drug when taken for non-medical purposes then it is termed abused. Today there are very many drugs that are being used for sheer feeling of euphoria the users derive from them. These drugs are common in streets needless to mention some of the drugs that are used in hospitals for medicinal purposes have also been abused greatly. When a particular drug is used for quite a long time for non-medical purpose it becomes very toxic to the body. Substance abuse is a vice that needs to be fought at all costs and from all fronts as it has opened avenues through which lives have been lost. The problems that a person can suffer from long-term drug abuse spring from all the dimensions of a person’s health be it psychological health, mental health, physical health as well as his social relations. A person who is a victim to drug abuse may fail to cater for family needs, school obligations and even fail to have peace within him as he will be having lots of personal and interpersonal conflicts. Drug and substance dependence is commonly known as addiction. Drug or substance dependence is characterized by change in behaviors of a person. Most common behavior being the need to use more quantities of the substance. When a person is dependent on a given substance his life begins to revolve around it and it seems rather hard for him to live without using the substance. The person often suffers such symptoms as withdrawal among other symptoms associated with drug abuse and dependence.

Drug abuse and dependence are dangerous for an individual; however when a person has just began using a particular substance he may be easily helped to quit the habit than when he has used it for so long that he has become dependent on the drug and has begun showing those side effects that are associated with drug dependence. It is also good to note that a person may become dependent on a drug without abusing it. It is also good to note that person may abuse substance for quite a long time without ‘graduating’ to drug dependence.

One of the drugs that are being abused today is the Ketamine. Ketamine is one of the drugs that are very useful in hospitals. It is a perfect example that even some drugs that help us in gaining good health can also be abused. Ketamine is a medication that has been used to treat many illnesses. It is used in medical procedures with humans and other animals and that means it is an accepted medication in hospitals hence can be easily accessed by medical practitioners such as nurses and doctors. In hospitals it is mainly for starting and maintaining general anesthesia especially in scenarios where the patient is to go through intense pain. It also has other uses and these include sedation in intensive care, as a pain killer. It is however commonly used as a painkiller in emergency cases when the patient is allergic to other known drugs used in suppressing pain such as opiate drugs. This drug can be used as treatment of bronchospasm, and as a treatment for complex regional pain syndrome.

Ketamine has been found to work better since its administration does not affect the Respiratory function. For this reason it has become a very valuable anesthetic. However one of the known side effects often associated with administration of ketamine is agitation.

Ketamine is a NMDA noncompetitive Receptor antagonist

Ketamine is an arylcyclohexylamine derivative of phencyclidine. It is also a non-competitive NMDA antagonist. Scientist, Lodge and his colleagues the first showed that ketamine, phencyclidine, related arylcyclohexylamines and congeners were antagonists of excitatory amino acids like aspartate and glutamate in 1983. The early history of the development of ketamine as an anesthetic agent was documented by McCarthy in 1981. Other scientists Corssen and Dundee reviewed the historical introduction of ketamine into human anesthesia and the term dissociative anesthesia in 1990. These scientists found that for ketamine to be used safely in clinical therapies, it had to be tamed.

Low doses of ketamine in humans do not necessarily alter perception in a negative way. Foster gave an IV infusion of three different sub anesthetic doses of ketamine (0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 mg/kg/h) to six patients with Alzheimer’s disease. The patients showed no drowsiness and their reaction times and digit span were unaffected by any of the doses of ketamine used. This study however is rather controversial. This is because NMDA receptors are involved in brain function, including arousal and memory, this study requires further research and explanation because one would have predicted exactly the opposite effects even with the small doses of ketamine used.

Ketamine Intoxication

Ketamine as nicotinic inhibitor

Initially the effect of ketamine blockade on niconitic receptors was unknown. But today after many researches and experiments scientists have shown that racemic ketamine and the isomers inhibits nAChRs and K channels in a concentration-dependent and reversible manner. In an experiment racemic ketamine inhibited nAChRs and K channels, with the anesthetic concentration inducing the half-maximal effect being 1.4 and 300 micrometer, respectively. Only inhibition of the nAChRs was stereo selective. The half-maximal concentrations were 0.8 and 3.6 micrometer for S (+) – and R (-)-ketamine. The K channels were 350 and 70 times less sensitive to the effects of S (+) – and R (-)-ketamine.

Ketamine at concentrations found during clinical anesthesia exerts stereospecific effects on human ganglionic nAChRs but not on voltage-dependent K channels. The results found from this experiment supports the view that ketamine impairs sympathetic ganglionic transmission. Nonspecific effects on voltage-dependent K channels may underlie psychomimetic side effects.

Ketamine Intoxication Abuse and Dependence

Category Archives: addiction