Dextromethorphan (DXM) As a Drug of Abuse

September 25, 2014

Dextromethorphan (DXM) As a Drug of Abuse

Dextromethorphan (DXM) As a known fact, most of the drugs that are now commonly abused began as clinical drugs. There are clinical drugs that might have recreational properties in that when a person takes more than recommended dosage he may experience some of the effects of the drug. These may include hallucination and euphoria. For this reason these drugs can be misused in large scale if measures are not taken to strictly regulate their use. Dextromethorphan is one of the drugs that have been used in clinical setup but are known to be rich in recreational properties.

Dextromethorphan (DXM) was used as a cough depressant in the past. Most of the over the counter cough medicines has it as an ingredient. It works in these drugs as an antitussive (cough suppressant) and expectorant in other words it works as an agent that promotes the removal of mucus from the respiratory tract. It also has other medical uses. These may include the temporary relief of sinus congestion, runny nose, cough, sneezing, itching of the nose and throat, and watery eyes caused by hay fever, allergies, cold, or flu (influenza). In fact most of the over the counter cough medication has DXM as the most active component. When the recommended dose is taken, DXM has few adverse side effects, and has a long history of safety and effectiveness. However when taken in huge doses beyond the description it has some serious side effects. It causes hazy images and poor vision plus it also causes hallucinations. This drug, owing to its hallucinatory effects has been highly abused.

Over the past few years, cases related to use of DXM for non-medical purposes has risen and still very many people are using this drug for all the wrong reasons. Experts opine that the rise in abuse of this drug is attributed to the ease of purchasing nonprescription cough drugs from drug stores and in the internet. The drug is also legal and so even those who use it for wrong purpose are not afraid of the authorities even if they are found to be in possession of DXM. This gives it a more reason to be used as opposed to other hallucinogens that are considered illegal in most states. The FDA approves the use of DXM for medicinal purposes basing on the fact that when it is used within the prescribed doses then it can not cause any health hazard. However, it can be a damaging substance. Recreational users intentionally exceed suggested doses to experience a sense of heightened perceptual awareness, altered time perception, and/or visual hallucinations. Also, users often abuse the drug in combination with other drugs. The interaction between DXM and other substances e.g., alcohol, acetaminophen, MDMA/ecstasy, and other OTC cough medicines. When DXM is used with other drugs for recreational purposes, it produces a synergistic effect that can be very dangerous. Ingredients of cough medicines other than DXM, like acetaminophen, are extremely hazardous when consumed in high doses and can cause liver damage, heart attack, stroke, and death. For these reasons it is very important to restrict oneself to the prescribed dosage to avoid all the other undesirable effects.

DXM as Sigma receptors agonists

This drug works in a number ways in suppressing coughs. Firstly it has pharmacodynamic similarities to the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist ketamine. It is used as a cough depressant as it has been found to be effective yet very safe when used within the required doses. However this drug does not bind on the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors only but also binds to sigma-1 (σ1) receptors, which are believed to be protein targets for a potential new class of antidepressant medications.

Due to its hallucinatory effects it has become abused in that instead being used for medicinal purposes people now use it as a recreational drug. When taken a person will experience visual hallucinations and radically altered states of consciousness, often experienced as pleasurable and illuminating. This intense feeling of happiness and euphoria is what make many people to abuse DXM. It takes a person to a mental trip where every boundary of the mind seems overcome. However in case of overdose with the good feelings of happiness and euphoria a person may get feelings of anxiety and revulsion after using DXM. However there are other side effects associated with it.

Dextromethorphan (DXM)

Dextromethorphan side effects

Every drug has a side effect when abused. However the drugs will induce different reactions in people. As for DXM, it is very safe when used within the prescribed doses. However when a person uses this drugs in higher doses he will have to go through certain problems that are induced by the drug. There is however an innocent unintentional overdose under which a person may suffer such symptoms as; difficulty breathing, swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat. When this happens, you should stop using dextromethorphan and call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects: severe dizziness, anxiety, restless feeling, or nervousness, confusion, hallucinations and slow, shallow breathing.

Apart from the unintentional overdose that may be termed accidental a person may overdose to get the feelings of euphoria and hallucinations from this drug. However this may result in serious health problems both short-term and long-term.

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.

Dextromethorphan (DXM) As a Drug of Abuse

Integrative Medicine and Biomedicine

September 25, 2014

The Difference between Integrative Medicine and Biomedicine

There are several differences between integrative medicine and biomedicine. These are discussed in the sections that follow.

Difference in overall purpose

Integrative medicine is an approach to medicine that is focused on combining alternative therapies with the conventional ones as a way of providing complete treatment to patients. Complete treatment in this case represents overall wellbeing in the body, mind and spirit of a patient. On the other hand, biomedicine is a distinct approach in medicine in which overall health of an individual is seen as a state in which the functioning of all the internal systems of the body is at an optimum level. It can be seen that whereas the focus of integrated medicine is on ensuring that a patient is healthy in body, spirit and mind, the focus of biomedicine is to ensure that all the internal systems are working properly. It is only when the internal systems are at their optimum level that an individual can be said to be in perfect health.

Difference in the role that the patient plays during treatment

It can be said that in both approaches, the patient takes the central position in the treatment process. Both forms lay much emphasis on the principle that good treatment should be patient – centered in the first place. It is this approach that differentiates these practices from conventional medicine.

However, the manner in which the patient is expected to play a central role in the course of treatment differs distinctively in both approaches. In biomedicine, the patient is taken to be the master. It is the uniqueness and specific demands of the patient that determine the nature, type and timing of the therapies used. This differs significantly from what takes place during the course of treatment under the integrative medicine approach. Since integrative medicine entails use of conventional and alternative therapies in the course of treatment, the role that the patient plays during this process is likely to vary depending on whether he or she is undergoing conventional therapies or getting complementary ones.

This is so because whereas the role of the patient in course of complementary therapies like nutritional supplements and exercises may remain central, this may not necessarily be the case in the course of undergoing conventional therapies such as chemotherapy in the case of cancer.

Differences in what constitutes the key aspects of a human being

The two approaches, biomedicine and integrative medicine, differ from each other in the way they view what the elements that constitute a whole person are. Although this may be a difference in principle, it does have an influence in practice since the approaches that are used and the way that they are administered really depends on the underlying principles of the practice.

In biomedicine, a whole person is seen as being composed of three key systems: neurological, digestive and immunological. It can be seen that clearly, the emphasis is on the biochemical composition of the body of a person. It then follows that disease, under this approach, is a result of a form of imbalance in any of these systems. Such imbalances may be caused by a buildup of toxins or poor intake of nutrients. Since this is the case, the approach works by seeking to restore balance to the biochemical functioning of a patient. This is done by recommending the kind of nutrients that should be taken to restore the balance in the three systems and ensure that removal of poisonous byproducts is efficient.

In integrative medicine, an individual is viewed as being made up of three aspects: the physical, spiritual and mental. Therefore, the health of an individual depends on how well the three aspects are functioning. It can be seen that the focus for integrative medicine is wider than that of biomedicine which is based on the biochemistry of the body and its related internal systems.

Differences in the kinds of therapies used

There are also fundamental differences between biomedicine and integrative medicine with regard to the kind of therapies that are used during treatment. For the case of integrative medicine, it should be noted that the approach combines conventional and complementary therapies. The conventional therapies that are used in the course of treatment under this approach vary with the disease that is being treated. A common point is that they include use of pharmaceutical drugs, special procedures such as surgery and other methods whose development and use has been based on rigorous scientific research, technological development and clinical trials.

In addition to these therapies, integrative medicine entails the use of other therapies which are derived from a number of different sources. For instance, different types of physical exercises may be used in the course of treatment. Also, practices such as acupuncture, body massage and use of special nutritional supplements may be used in the course of treatment.

The goal of combining these apparently different forms of treatment is that by doing this, the methods complement each other, thus enabling a patient to have full health in body, mind and spirit.

Although biomedicine may use some of the alternative methods that are used in integrative medicine like naturopathic medicine, the mode of treatment under this approach remains confined to such methods.

Dr. Dalal Akoury of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Centre has been on the forefront in the use of biomedicine and integrative medicine in the treatment of various diseases and conditions, chief among them being cancer. If you have a chronic disease or any condition that requires the attention of a doctor, do not hesitate to contact us for an engagement. We value our clients; that is why we endeavor to offer the most personalized care to them for any kind of condition.

The Difference between Integrative Medicine and Biomedicine

Phenethylamine Analogues and Addiction

September 24, 2014

Phenethylamine Analogues Are Potentially Addictive

Phenethylamine Amphetamine was used to treat children with attention deficit disorder until its addictive potential was recognized. The fact that it could be abused led the physicians to do lots of research in order to come up with its substitute in medical field that did not have much adverse effects. However to the youths amphetamine has become a substance of abuse that many are familiar with. Here are details of the experiments, the substitutes or other the amphetamine analogues and how they work.

In an experiment Methylphenidate was found to inhibit competitively the striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) and bind at sites on the DAT in common with both cocaine (a non-substrate site ligand) and amphetamine (a substrate site ligand). Some methylphenidate analogues modified on the aromatic ring or at the nitrogen were tested to determine whether the profile of inhibition could be altered. None was found to stimulate the release of dopamine in the time frame of 60 seconds of the experiments conducted, and each of the analogues tested was found to noncompetitively inhibit the transport of dopamine. It was found that halogenating the aromatic ring with chlorine (threo-3, 4-dichloromethylphenidate hydrochloride; compound;

1) Increased the affinity of Methylphenidate to inhibit the transport of dopamine. A derivative of Methylphenidate with simultaneous, single methyl group substitutions on the phenyl ring and at the nitrogen (threo-N-methyl-4-methylphenidate hydrochloride; compound

2) Bound at a site in common with Methylphenidate. A benzyl group positioned at the nitrogen (three-N-benzylmethylphenidate hydrochloride; compound

3) Imparted properties to the inhibitor in which binding at substrate and non-substrate sites could be distinguished. This analogue bound at a mutually interacting site with that of methylphenidate and had a Kint value of 4.29 mM. Furthermore, the N-substituted analogues (compounds 2 and 3), although clearly inhibitors of dopamine transport, were found to attenuate dramatically the inhibition of dopamine transport by amphetamine, suggesting that the development of an antagonist for substrate analogue drugs of abuse may be possible.

Phenethylamine Methylphenidate is currently the most commonly prescribed drug to treat children with attention deficit disorder and is also used to treat narcolepsy. Originally, amphetamine was used to treat children with attention deficit disorder until its addictive potential was recognized. It was estimated in 1992 that 3% of school age children were being treated with Methylphenidate for some extended interval. These numbers have continued to increase. Methylphenidate is not thought to stimulate dopamine synthesis or induce release of dopamine from nerve terminals. The action of Methylphenidate is to block the inward transport of dopamine into the presynaptic terminal, resulting in a prolonged dopamine stimulus.

Although Methylphenidate, a psychomotor stimulant agent, has been shown to have abuse potential, it is still the drug of choice for the treatment of children with attention deficit disorder. Methylphenidate has been shown to bind at the dopamine transporter (DAT) and its binding is saturable and specific for the DAT but it is not clear where Methylphenidate binds on the transporter relative to dopamine and other inhibitors of transport.

Methylphenidate is thought to have behavioral, pharmacological, and binding properties similar to those of amphetamine. Therefore, Methylphenidate has been classified as a non-transported inhibitor of DAT as well as a substrate analogue for DAT when present at high concentrations these discrepancies have led to the current study, which focuses on comparing the inhibition properties and binding sites of Methylphenidate with those of some Methylphenidate structural analogues, amphetamine, and cocaine. The results of previous work by this laboratory in a kinetic model of the actively transporting DAT have shown that amphetamine and m-tyramine bind to the same site on the DAT and at a site competitive with dopamine .Thus, it was shown that amphetamine and m-tyramine are substrate analogues for the DAT. It was shown that amphetamine binds at a site that is separate but interacting with the inhibitory site of cocaine on the DAT.

Different Methylphenidate derivatives have been synthesized in an attempt to develop compounds that will block cocaine binding to the DAT but do not interfere with substrate binding or transport. The test used for their assessment has been to compare the IC50 for inhibition of the transport of dopamine with the IC50 of the test analogue for the displacement of [3H] WIN 35,428 binding.

In this current study, amphetamine, cocaine, and selected structural analogues of Methylphenidate were used to decipher whether Methylphenidate resembles amphetamine or cocaine in its effects on the function of DAT. The Methylphenidate derivatives studied in this work were chosen for their particular characteristics. Compound 1, a dichloro-substituted derivative, is one of the more potent Methylphenidate derivatives with respect to inhibition of [3H] WIN 35,428 binding. It differs from most other Methylphenidate derivatives that have been synthesized in that it is equipotent as an inhibitor of [3H]WIN 35,428 binding and [3H]DA uptake and it also has an equilibrium Hill coefficient (nH) determined against [3H]WIN 35,428 binding of dopamine. Most of the other Methylphenidate analogues are at least threefold less potent as inhibitors of [3H] DA uptake and have nH values of unity. Compounds 2 and 3 were included because they are some of the most effective analogues in discriminating between [3H] WIN 35,428 binding and [3H] DA uptake, with a five- to sevenfold separation in potency to inhibit binding versus transport.

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.

Phenethylamine Analogues Are Potentially Addictive

Hallucinogens? What Are They?

September 23, 2014

Widely Used Hallucinogens

There some drugs that when used may cause hallucinations. The drugs that cause hallucinations are called hallucinogens. These drugs when taken make a person to see things that are not even in existence. The drugs take a person to a trip. He ceases to see what is in the real world but instead sees things that nobody else sees. Hallucinogens may also have other destructive effects to those who take then in fact most drugs that cause hallucinations are often linked to such grave symptoms as memory loss among others. Hallucinogens are interesting drugs, they work differently for each individual person. A person may take a hallucinogen in huge quantity but still will not see many crazy visual hallucinations as compared to others who will even see dogs talk to him in his hallucinations even after taking the least quantities available.

hallucinogens

I’ve never actually taken LSD before but i know and have talked with many people who have. Color enhancement, visual distortions, and “melting” are typical effects produced by LSD in medium quantities. One of the drugs that cause a person to hallucinate is the LSD. The way LSD affects people varies greatly, however when taken it can take you to a ‘trip’ that may go for as long as 12 hours but there is a peak halfway through the middle. During these trips a person may also experience bodily changes which include dilated pupils, increased blood pressure and a high body temperature. People on LSD may also feel dizzy, sweat, have blurred vision and feel tingling in their hands and feet. They may feel drowsy but not sleepy.

LSD also induces a feeling of euphoria and a person becomes extremely happy laughs a lot and everything in his world becomes magically beautifully. A person who has taken LSD will feel like he has broken the barriers of his brain and hence become very contemplative. They feel like they have learnt new ways that were hidden and they get new understanding of how things are in the world. They trip to religious and spiritual a journey which is dreamlike revealing very strange phenomena to them. The colors in their surrounding become stronger than they really are and so are the lights that become brighter than normal. Taking LSD also causes synesthesia — a confusion of sensations between different types of stimuli. Some people have described this as seeing colors when they hear specific sounds.
LSD also causes poor judgment and so LSD users prefer taking the drug in groups and in calm environments like homes where they may not interact with other people who may take advantage in the twist of their judgment. They may spend a better part of their trip trying to understand something that seems rather unimportant.

Sometimes a person may have to be taken to hospitals in case he has got ‘a bad trip’ which means he might be hallucinating to a point not good for his mental health. The trip may take too long and in most instances the person may lose control. When taken to hospital he may be injected with anti-anxiety medication or a mild tranquilizer to ease the patient’s panic.

Mescaline

hallucinogens Mescaline is a naturally occurring psychedelic found in several cactus species, most notably, Peyote (Lophophora williamsii) and San Pedro (Trichocereus pachanoi). Several other members of the trichocereus family also contain mescaline.
Mescaline belongs to a family of compounds known as phenethylamines, making it quite distinct from the other major psychedelics which belong to the indole family. LSD, psilocybin, harmaline, and DMT are all indoles. Many synthetic “designer” psychedelics, such as ecstasy (MDMA) and 2C-B, are phenethylamines, and are related to the chemistry of mescaline.

Mescaline has been used for a long time in religious functions in san Pedro and today the use of mescaline in religious functions is still upheld by the Peru. The major reason why this plant extract is being used in for religious purposes is because of the hallucinatory effects it possesses. It helps a person to see more than he could in normal setting.

Due to its hallucinatory effects it has become abused in that instead being used for religious purposes people now use it as a recreational drug. When taken a person will experience visual hallucinations and radically altered states of consciousness, often experienced as pleasurable and illuminating. It takes a person to a mental trip where every boundary of the mind seems overcome. However with the good feelings of happiness and euphoria a person may get feelings of anxiety and revulsion after using mescaline. Visualizations euphoria and laughter are the better part of taking mescaline. However there are other side effects associated with it.

Side effects of mescaline

Being a product highly valued as it is used for religious purposes most researches that have been done on it have not shown its side effects. However these are the side effects that have been reported; dizziness, anxiety, increased heart beat diarrhea and even headache. However vomiting is considered an advantage by the Shaman ceremonies as it is considered cleansing.

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.

Widely Used Hallucinogens

Bath Salts, Dangerous side effects

September 23, 2014

Dangerous Drugs Disguised As ‘Bath Salts’

Bath salts is a tittle that is given to a family of drugs that contain one or more than one synthetic chemicals related to cathinone, an amphetamine-like stimulant found naturally in the Khat plant. The name ‘bath salts’ was given to these drugs because of the ways they were disguised in the market. These drugs are often in the form of white powder, or crystals which often resemble legal bathing products like Epsom salts, but are different in chemical composition from actual bath salts. Those trading in these drugs were very cunning or do we say they were clever they even wrote on the packaging of these drugs as ‘not for human consumption’ just to evade all the problems from the authorities. Hence these drugs were traded for a long time without fear of prohibition.

It is therefore necessary for me to state this here, these drugs that were marked as bathing salts simply to evade problems that the traders would go through incase the authorities detected they were dealing in drugs should never be mistaken for the genuine bathing salts such as Epsom salts that are sold with intentions of improving bathing experience. Epsom and other genuine salts do not contain the drug properties that are in designed drugs disguised as bathing salts.

These drugs have since become a public health and safety issue. There has been a growing concern to tame the use of these drugs after several scientific studies have shown that they do affect the people who use them adversely. The users of these ‘bathing salts’ are always lured by the opinion that these drugs would give a person a feeling of euphoria, increased sociability and even increases a person’s sex drive. Those who are using these drugs for these reasons are misled because they do not always check for the side effects that may come along with the ‘benefits’ that they seek to find in these bathing salts. Some of the side effects that are associated with the use of these ‘bathing salts’ are paranoia, agitation, and hallucinatory delirium; some even display psychotic and violent behavior, and in extreme cases, deaths. With proof that these drugs can cause death it therefore calls for caution in handling these drugs and strict laws should be adopted to deal with those found in possession of these ‘bathing soaps’ just as it has always been done with other hard drugs.

bath salts

The use of these drugs has really spread as fast as they are now being sold online under such names as plant food, jewelry cleaner and even phone screen cleaner. There are also other online drug stores that also sell these drugs under such brand names as Ivory Wave, Bloom, Cloud Nine, Lunar Wave, Vanilla Sky, White Lightning and Scarface.

Common synthetic cathinones found in bath salts include 3, 4 methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), mephedrone commonly known as Drone, Meph, or Meow Meow and methylone, but there are others that are not mentioned here. Much is still unknown about how these substances affect the human brain, and each one may have somewhat different properties. Chemically, they are similar to amphetamines such as methamphetamine as well as to MDMA also known as ecstasy.

The energizing and often agitating effects reported in people who have taken bath salts are consistent with other drugs like amphetamines and cocaine that raise the level of the neurotransmitter dopamine in brain circuits regulating reward and movement. A surge in dopamine in these circuits causes feelings of euphoria and increased activity. A similar surge of the transmitter norepinephrine can raise heart rate and blood pressure. Bath salts have been marketed as cheap and until recently, legal substitutes for those stimulants. A recent study found that MDPV—the most common synthetic cathinone found in the blood and urine of patients admitted to emergency departments after bath salts ingestion—raises brain dopamine in the same manner as cocaine but is at least 10 times more potent. This shows how dangerous these drugs are.

Those who use these bathing salts have been reported to inhibit hallucinatory effects that are similar to those experienced by those who are using such drugs as MDMA or LSD that are known to increase the levels of serotonin which is another known neurotransmitter. Researchers have done experiments on rats through which it was found that mephedrone and methylone increased the levels of serotonin as it happens with the use of MDMA.

Here are some other side effects of Bath salts

Today hospitals are receiving victims of these bath salts. Most of the reactions that they inhibit include but not limited to high blood pressure, and chest pains, psychiatric symptoms like paranoia, hallucinations, and panic attacks. There is also a symptom commonly referred to as ‘excited delirium’ from taking bath salts also may have dehydration, breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue, and kidney failure.

These drugs are also very addictive and since may prove a real hell to break free from. The more a person uses these drugs the more he craves for more of this drug and this with time may prove fatal. When used for a long time it may beckon dependence.

There are very many side effects associated with ‘bath salts’ but the greatest fear is that these drugs are designed and so most of the contents are unknown which seem very dangerous.

Finally, Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) is an experienced Medical Educator who has been in the frontline fighting drug addiction. She 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. Dr. Akoury offers great Natural addiction education to Physicians, Nurses, Nurse Practitioners , and Councilors.

Dangerous Drugs Disguised As ‘Bath Salts’

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