How drug addiction affects nutritional imbalances

August 18, 2015

How drug addiction affects nutritional imbalances: Understanding diet and drug addiction conflicts in the body

The moment we all come to the realization of how drug addiction affects nutritional imbalances, we will be making the very first important move towards defeating thing addiction problem in our lives and from our societies

The energy that keeps the body functioning normally comes from food we eat. It therefore means that the quality of this food stuff must be above board. In other words, every meal we take should be loaded with adequate nutrients and we must also learn to balance the diet so that the body is not just feed on one element of nutrient. This is very important and everybody needs to embrace it by all standards if we want to remain healthy. However as we endeavor to good to our body by feeding it with good and well balanced diet, these efforts could be watered down if we in cooperate certain harmful substances in the body and that introduces us to our topic of discussion today which is “how drug addiction affects nutritional imbalances in our body systems.” Professionally doctor Dalal Akoury (MD) who is a veteran specialist in addiction says that ideally the body of any living thing needs to be kept in perfect health for it to discharge it duties effectively. Even though good nutrition is very instrumental in keeping the body in good shape, it is not the only element that is needed to do this enormous task in the body. The body will also need to be active by indulging in reasonable physical activities among other necessities.

According to the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, a health institution primarily formulated by doctor Dalal Akoury to make a difference in the lives of people struggling with addiction, drug addiction impacts negatively in the lives of people and it causes a lot of nutritional imbalances in the process. This is what we want to interrogate even as we move towards finding lasting solutions that will deal permanently with the scourge of drug addiction in our societies. Doctor Akoury is very categorical that the body needs sufficient nutrients to dispense energy that will enable it to propel the daily activities however deficiency of these vital nutrients in the body is likely to have serious consequences more in the life of those using drugs. And that now brings us to the question “how does the substance abuse cause harm to the body?” continue reading as we progress into the discussion.

How drug addiction affects nutritional imbalances: How does substance abuse harms the body?

Without the knowledge of how drug addiction harms the body we may not be able to fight the problem from its roots. In that respect, doctor Akoury reports that substance abuse is capable of harming the body in two major ways which may include: the substance itself affecting the body and it can also cause negative lifestyle changes including irregular eating and poor diet. Now to be a little bit more specific in this discussion, let’s take for example the infants whose parents were alcoholic or abusing certain drugs, such infants are exposed to alcohol and those other substances their parents were using even when they are still in the womb and the consequences of that is that they will often have physical and mental problems as they grow up. Alcohol will affects the growth of such babies at the connection point which is by crossing the placenta. And in most cases after birth, the baby may have withdrawal symptoms. The mother’s poor nutrition while she is drinking can harm the baby’s growth and development while still in the womb. And remember that even recovery from substance abuse can also affects the body in other ways, including metabolism processing energy, organ function, and mental well-being. Proper nutrition may help the healing process. Nutrients supply the body with energy. They provide substances to build and maintain healthy organs and fight off infection. And now let us look at some of the specific impacts different drugs have on nutrition and healthy living as we progress into the discussion.

How drug addiction affects nutritional imbalances: Opiates

Doctor Akoury explains that the family of opiates which includes codeine, oxycontin, heroin, and morphine will impact negatively on the gastrointestinal system and besides that constipation is a very common symptom of abuse with diarrhea, nausea and vomiting being some of the major symptoms which in many cases will lead to the deficiencies of nutrients and an imbalance of electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, and chloride. Doctor Akoury is reporting that even though the impact may not be pleasing to the body, the good news is that feeding on a balance diet will go a long way in reducing the effects of these symptoms.

How drug addiction affects nutritional imbalances: Alcohol

In the past articles, we have dwelt much on the effects of alcoholism on human health and even in this case alcohol abuse is also considered as one of the major causes of nutritional deficiency in most states globally. The most common deficiencies are of pyridoxine (vitamin B6), thiamine, and folic acid. A lack of these nutrients causes anemia and nervous system neurologic problems. Korsakoff’s syndrome “wet brain” occurs when heavy alcohol use causes a lack of enough thiamine. Besides that alcohol intoxication will also cause damages in two major organs that are responsible for metabolism and nutrition: the liver and the pancreas. The liver is responsible for the removal of toxins from harmful substances while the pancreas regulates the blood sugar and the absorption of fat. With these vital functions it therefore means that any damage caused to these two organs will automatically results in an imbalance of fluids, calories, protein, and electrolytes. Apart from what is already mentioned other complications may include: diabetes , high blood pressure, permanent liver damage (or cirrhosis), seizures, severe malnutrition and shortened life expectancy

How drug addiction affects nutritional imbalances: Stimulants

Stimulant use (such as crack, cocaine, and methamphetamine) reduces appetite, and leads to weight loss and poor nutrition. Abusers of these drugs may stay up for days at a time. They may be dehydrated and have electrolyte imbalances during these episodes. Returning to a normal diet can be hard if a person has lost a lot of weight. Memory problems, which may be permanent, are a complication of long-term stimulant use.

Finally from the discussion above it is now clear that nutrition imbalance is a major factor in drug addiction recovery and efforts must be made to have this problem fixed professionally. We must therefore pool together in order to keep healthy and if you are wondering on where to start from, the wonder no more because doctor Dalal Akoury realizing the difficulties people were going through made a passionate decision to create a medical center whose main objective is to transform each individual’s life through increasing awareness about health and wellness and by empowering individuals to find their own inner healing power. Dr. Akoury’s practice focuses on personalized medicine through healthy lifestyle choices that deal with primary prevention and underlying causes instead of patching up symptoms. This is the place of professionalism and all you need to do on your part is to call her on telephone number 843 213 1480 to schedule for an appointment that will have all your problems relating to addiction and nutrition professionally fixed.

How drug addiction affects nutritional imbalances: Understanding diet and drug addiction conflicts in the body

Treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

April 22, 2015

Treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: The two Components of ADHD

Treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms include difficulty staying focused and paying attention, difficulty controlling behavior, and hyperactivity (over-activity

The joy of being healthy cannot be compared with anything and cannot be quantify into monetary value. The problem we have today is that such important assets are seriously under immense threat and is being attacked by diseases from all directions and in all ages. Some of the diseases can begin even before conception and by the time one is born, the magnitude of the problem is unbearable. This link is objectively design to bring to your attention the health information from various health conditions and today we want to look at the available treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood disorders and can continue through adolescence and even into adulthood. Symptoms include difficulty staying focused and paying attention, difficulty controlling behavior, and hyperactivity (over-activity). This condition has two important components to look at it from; the psychological interventions and medications. Doctor Akoury says that there are adequate evidences from various studies that medication alone may not effectively help the primary issues affecting the patients whether they are children or adult. Therefore it is very important that the patients’ needs to know more about this condition inside out to be able to successful while living with the disorder. That now introduces into understanding the symptoms of ADHD.

Treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Signs and Symptoms

Inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity are the key behaviors of ADHD. It is normal for all children to be inattentive, hyperactive, or impulsive sometimes, but for children with ADHD, these behaviors are more severe and occur more often. To be diagnosed with the disorder, a child must have symptoms for 6 or more months and to a degree that is greater than other children of the same age. Children who have symptoms of inattention may demonstrate the following:

They can easily be distracted, miss details, forget things, and frequently switch from one activity to another
Have difficulty focusing or concentrating on one assignment
Become bored with a task after only a few minutes, unless they are doing something enjoyable
Have difficulty focusing attention on organizing and completing a task or learning something new
Have trouble completing or turning in homework assignments, often losing things (e.g., pencils, toys, assignments) needed to complete tasks or activities
Not seem to listen when spoken to
Daydream, become easily confused, and move slowly
Have difficulty processing information as quickly and accurately as others
Struggle in following given instructions.

Children who have symptoms of hyperactivity may demonstrate the following:

Fidget and squirm in their seats
Be talkative
Dash around, touching or playing with anything and everything on sight
Have trouble sitting still during dinner, school, and story time
Be constantly in motion
Have difficulty doing quiet tasks or activities.

Children who have symptoms of impulsivity may demonstrate the following:

Be very impatient
Blurt out inappropriate comments, show their emotions without restraint, and act without regard for consequences
Have difficulty waiting for things they want or waiting their turns in games
Often interrupt conversations or others’ activities.

Treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Treatments

Because of the nature of this condition treatment is very important to be administered in good time after evaluating the symptoms for the six months. Interestingly at the moment doctor Akoury says that the available treatments is majorly focusing on the reduction of the symptoms of ADHD and improving functioning. When you pay a visit to any health facility where ADHD treatment is offered like at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center a facility established by doctor Dalal Akoury, when the relevant test have been done, treatments will include medication, various types of psychotherapy, education or training, or a combination of treatments. It is however very important to note that, these treatments will relieve many disorders symptoms even though there is no cure. When treatment is done effectively, many patients are able to get better and be successful in there academics for a better life in the future. A lot of studies are currently being done to establish the actual treatment and interventions of ADHD.

Treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Medications

Stimulant is the most common type of medication used for treating ADHD. Although it may seem unusual to treat ADHD with a medication considered a stimulant, it actually has a calming effect on children with ADHD. Many types of stimulant medications are available. A few other ADHD medications are non-stimulants and work differently than stimulants. For many children, ADHD medications reduce hyperactivity and impulsivity and improve their ability to focus, work, and learn. Medication also may improve physical coordination. And even though medication will work better in offering solutions to ADHD patients and more so in children, it is important to note that the same medication may not work in the same manner with every child patient. In other words what works for one patient may not really work for the other. One child might react with the medication negatively and yet another may not. For effectiveness it may necessitate that different medications or dosages must be tried before finding one that works for a particular child. Therefore any child taking medications must be kept under close observation by their health professionals during this period.

Finally stimulant medications come in different forms including the pills, capsule, liquid or skin patch. Some medications also come in short-acting, long-acting, or extended release varieties. In each of these varieties, the active ingredient is the same, but it is released differently in the body. Long-acting or extended release forms often allow a child to take the medication just once a day before school, so they don’t have to make a daily trip to the school nurse for another dose. Parents and doctors should decide together which medication is best for the child and whether the child needs medication only for school hours or for evenings and weekends too. ADHD can be diagnosed and medications prescribed by medical doctors who are usually practicing psychiatrist though in some states the prescription could also be done by clinical psychologists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, and advanced psychiatric nurse specialists.

Treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: The two Components of ADHD

Molecular Mechanisms of Methamphetamine Induced-Neurotoxicity

March 21, 2015

Methamphetamine is a stimulant that is also highly soluble in water and affects the CNS most. Categorically it fits in the group of synthetic drugs chemically related to amphetamine but it has more adverse effects on the Central nervous system than the parent compound. Abuse of these illegal psychostimulants has become an international public health problem, with an estimated 14 to 52 million amphetamine-type stimulant users worldwide, exceeding the total number of cocaine abusers and second only to the number of cannabis abusers. This number has continued to rise in spite of the fact that much has been done to publicize the adverse effects these amphetamine related stimulants are linked to. Meth or speed as known in stimulant use circles exists in different forms like powder, tablets and capsules. It can also be found in a purer crystalline form.

It’s dangerous why is it used?

Just like most stimulants or drugs that are known to induce euphoric feelings, methamphetamine is also taken for similar reasons for example; to induce euphoric feelings, increased sense of well-being, increase energy and to calm anxiety. Being a powerful drug its effects are felt immediately after the use but these effects can last for long hours. They may be accompanied by acute adverse effects such as increased blood pressure and heart rate, which may cause irreversible damage to blood vessels in the brain, resulting in cerebrovascular accidents, stroke, and death. Methamphetamine also produces hyperthermia, pupil dilation, flushing, tremors, trismus and bruxism, muscle tension, loss of appetite or anorexia, and loss of pleasure in food intake which further leads to deterioration of the user’s health.

methamphetamine

Effects of Methamphetamine

Being an addictive drug, after a prolonged use the users may develop tolerance. It’s most common symptoms after a prolonged use include; temporomandibular joint syndrome, dental erosion, and myofacial pain. Long-term use also produces lack of appetite, weight loss, accelerated aging, nose-bleeding problems, nonhealing wounds, tooth decay and fracture known as “Meth mouth”. Psychiatric symptoms include anxiety, depression, increased aggression, social isolation, psychosis, mood disturbances, and psychomotor dysfunction. Long periods of high consumption can cause paranoid psychosis. Other symptoms of chronic methamphetamine use may also include; deficits in attention, working memory, and decision making. Most addicts are stuck in the use of meth as a result of the withdrawal symptoms which include the following; irritability, fatigue, impaired social functioning, and intense craving for the drug. Researchers have given evidence that the negative neuropsychiatric consequences of methamphetamine abuse are due, at least in part, to drug-induced neuropathological changes in the brain. Although the exact molecular mechanisms of neuronal body loss are not known, there is evidence to suggest the coexistence of different types of cell death, including apoptosis and necrosis ; indicated by the morphology of neurons stained with hematoxylin-eosin. Growing evidence exhibits that methamphetamine and MDMA induce an increase in lipid peroxidation and DNA oxidation as well as increased levels of oxidative stress markers such as hydroxyl radical producing neurotoxicity. Methamphetamine increases expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (nNOS)/ neuronal nitric oxide synthase (iNOS ) indicating increased synthesis of neuronal nitric oxide, which combines with superoxide radicals to form peroxynitrite which is a strong oxidant and a major neurotoxin . Induction of nNOS/iNOS by methamphetamine or MDMA constitutes part of the mechanism of methamphetamine damage, as selective inhibition or genetic inactivation of nNOS and overexpression of cupper zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD), an enzyme that catalyzes the dismutation of superoxide into oxygen and hydrogen peroxide, prevent methamphetamine neurotoxicity . Even though methamphetamine increases iNOS expression in the striatum , there is no basis for supposing the involvement of glial nitric oxide in methamphetamine-induced toxicity, but it is interesting to note that mice deficient in iNOS have increased resistance to methamphetamine-induced dopamine neuron damage.

methamphetamine

The neurotoxic effects of methamphetamine on the dopaminergic system are accompanied by activation of astroglia and microglia in the same areas being strongest in the striatum, the area with biggest toxicity. Glial cells are not activated in the nucleus accumbens, which is not much damaged . In mice, glial activation in striatum and in substantia nigra occurs shortly after methamphetamine administration, as indicated by a significant increase in Mac-1 ;a marker of reactive microglia 24 hours after methamphetamine exposure and prominent increases in GFAP ; a marker of reactive gliosis in response to injury occur within a week after treatment . The extent of these glial reactions correlates with the observed severity of neurotoxicity.

The dopaminergic system is also involved in this toxicity, as demonstrated in various mutant mice in which inactivation of dopamine transport, dopamine D1 receptors or D2 receptors affords a significant protection against methamphetamine toxicity. Administration of THC prevents dopaminergic toxicity after MDMA, a similar amphetamine derivative to methamphetamine, by CB1 receptor stimulation which is present in striatal medium spiny neurons. All these receptors are involved in different aspects of learning processes that became affected by the chronic use of methamphetamine or MDMA.

Finally, Drug abuse, addiction and independence are problems that people grapple with every day. These problems need to be treated effectively through integrative medicine. Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) is an expert at this. Call her on (843) 213-1480 for help.

Molecular Mechanisms of Methamphetamine Induced-Neurotoxicity

Ritalin Addiction and Abuse

June 14, 2014

Ritalin Addiction and Abuse-Withdrawal and Treatment

Ritalin addiction affects the brain and can be very devastating.

Ritalin is a Central Nervous System (CNS) stimulant psychoactive drug which is generically known as methylphenidate. Stimulant psychoactive drugs hasten or speed up the brain and central nervous system activity; producing general effects of increased alertness, heightened senses, surges in energy etc. Ritalin is used to treat attention deficit disorders, attention deficit hyperactive disorder and narcolepsy (a strong desire to stay asleep which is not normal).

Other psychoactive drugs

Psychoactive drugs are those chemicals which the capability to influence and interfere with the normal functionalities of the central nerve system (CNS) and the brain. This interference comes in two different ways:

Drugs which hasten or speed up the functioning of CNS and brain are called stimulants and some of them may include drugs like Ritalin, crack cocaine, amphetamine, and crystal meth etc.
Drugs that slow the CNS and brain are called stimulants and in this group are opioids and opiates (Hydrocodone, buprenorphine, Opana, Demerol and Tramadol etc.) and alcohol.

The mechanism that these drugs use in functioning with the body is attaching to the receptacles or inducing production of endorphins which attach to brain and CNS receptacles to alter or inhibit successful signal transmission from other body organs to the brain and vice versa. This slows the body, generally reducing heart rate and in essence blood pressure, respiration and breathing etc.

The other category of psychoactive drugs are the hallucinogens/psychedelics this category tends to rearrange ones thinking, in other words they distort thinking completely, falsifying the person’s sense of pleasure, peace, or even threat etc., when realistically this is not the real situation happening. The drugs which fall in this category may include marijuana, PCP and MDMA these substances normally exhibit some traits and similarities of this category such as hallucinations, mood swings among many others.

Ritalin use

Ritalin is used in the body to offer functions like:

Attention deficit disorder patients lack the swiftness of mind and body to act and respond to stimuli in time.
They can be said to be slow and the presence of Ritalin boosts their energy, increases their sensory perception, self-awareness and alertness, which make them normal-like.
Narcolepsy on the other hand, being an unending sleepiness, is treated with Ritalin since in its working mechanism the drug reduces this sleep tendency and may even cause insomnia which is lack of sleep or sleep disturbances.
Like any other drug Ritalin is also prone to abuse, it is sometimes taken against prescription for leisure.
Those who seek leisure from Ritalin abuse it by taking more of it and in shorter frequencies to maximize its effects in the body and mind.
They might also use the drug together with other drugs that stimulate the brain, or drugs that make the effects of Ritalin take longer to wear off.
Abuse comprises not only the stated points above but also taking the drug when the body is already overactive, which makes the presence of the drug make automatic processes such as breathing, respiration, heart rate and blood pressure blow out of proportion.

Abuse

Like any other drug Ritalin is also prone to abuse, it is sometimes taken against prescription for leisure.
Those who seek leisure from Ritalin abuse it by taking more of it and in shorter frequencies to maximize its effects in the body and mind.
They might also use the drug together with other drugs that stimulate the brain, or drugs that make the effects of Ritalin take longer to wear off.
Abuse comprises not only the stated points above but also taking the drug when the body is already overactive, which makes the presence of the drug make automatic processes such as breathing, respiration, heart rate and blood pressure blow out of proportion.

Effects of Ritalin on the body and mind

As a stimulant Ritalin has various effects on the body and the mind of its users. These effects may be positive or negative depending on the use and they include:

Increased alertness and ability to focus
Energy surges
Numbing of pain
A boost in self-awareness and self esteem
Hastened automatic processes in the body, such as heart rate, breathing and respiration rates etc.
Sweating induced by a rise in body temperature
Grandiosity and invincibility
Heightened senses
Loss of appetite
Headaches
Insomnia

Side effects

Depression
An unending craving for the drug
Hypertension: due to increased heart rate
Cardiac arrest
Hyperthermia may destroy some body cells, reducing their effectiveness in normal functioning, which might induce organ failure
Increased threat perception due to heightened senses
Rapid breathing
Extreme pupil narrowing which alters vision
Intense headaches
Anorexia – lack of appetite and poor eating habits
Poor health due to poor eating habits
Dryness of the skin, which might be marked by rashes and itching
Sleep disturbances
Extreme hallucinations and schizophrenia
Mouth or nose bleeding due to cavity destruction by the drug’s powder and smoke Involuntary twitching of muscles

Addiction

Use of Ritalin to treat narcolepsy or ADD/ ADHD or the abuse of the drug for leisure does not exempt it from developing addiction. Prolonged use of the drug (meaning long durations of use and somewhat increased dosages taken) reduces the body and brain’s response to the drug, forcing more intakes of the drug and in higher dosage to achieve the same effects that were achieved with lesser amounts. This is called increased tolerance for the drug. Abuse comprises taking the drug without any caution whatsoever, and this means that higher quantities and shorter durations, as well as faster means of administration are employed to intensify the effects of Ritalin.

This develops tolerance very fast. Tolerance is succeeded by physical dependence, which means the body is now used to the drug for its regular functioning. Addiction is an amplified version of physical dependence and is a perpetual physical and psychological compulsion for the presence of the drug in the body and mind and it goes beyond the will or conscious desires of the individual. Any absence of the drug, whether temporary or permanent, elicits withdrawal symptoms (most of which are fatal if not properly managed).

Withdrawal

This is the process of quitting or reducing the intake of the drug. This is sometimes intentionally carried out for the many negative effects it has on the individual and on society.

Ritalin withdrawal symptoms

These may include:

Slowed heart rate and reduced blood pressure
Intense headaches
Extreme hallucinations
Paranoia
Vomiting
Abdominal pains
Malfunctioning organs (liver, kidney etc.) and the list continues.

Ritalin overdose

A Ritalin overdose occurs when Ritalin levels in the blood reach lethal levels. It may be characterized by a ruptured heart or blood vessels, due to the very high heart beat destruction of the kidneys, liver, lungs and other organs, bluish skin due to lack of circulation, slowed heart beat and weak pulse, an indication of a failing heart, falling into a coma, realistic hallucinations etc. all these points only communicate one point that addiction is a scourge in the society which must be rooted out soonest.

Talking of rooting addiction out it is important that we seek the services of not just professionals but experienced ones. For instance Dr. Dalal Akoury is not just a professional in her own right but an experienced one for that matter. She is the founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, a facility that has been very helpful to many addiction victims globally. Remember we want to kick out this scourge out of our society therefore a visit to this facility and meeting doctor Akoury and her team of experts will be the best you can do not just for yourself but to the society as well. Dr. Akoury is offering her exclusive NER Recovery Treatment to everybody including physicians and health care professionals through training, clinical apprenticeships, webinars and seminars. Welcome and be part of the endless list of beneficiaries in this truly successful and fast addiction recovery treatment.

Ritalin Addiction and Abuse-Withdrawal and Treatment

The brain exposed to stimulants abuse causes addiction

April 10, 2014

The brain exposed to stimulants abuse causes addiction-How it happens

It doesn’t have to go this far addiction can be eradicated if you avoid substance abuse, be it stimulant or otherwise.

Over the last several decades, research on substances of abuse has vastly improved our understanding of human behavior and physiology and the nature of substance abuse and dependence. Basic neurobiological research has enhanced our understanding of the biological and genetic causes of addiction. These discoveries have helped establish addiction as a biological brain disease that is chronic and relapsing in nature. By mapping the neural pathways of pleasure and pain through the human brain, investigators are beginning to understand how abused psychoactive substances, including stimulants, interact with various cells and chemicals in the brain.

For the purpose of this article I will tell you the effects of cocaine and methamphetamine (MA) use, have on the user’s brain and behavior, which in turn leads to the stimulant user’s unique needs. Understanding these effects provides the foundation for stimulant-specific treatment approaches and gives treatment providers greater insight into stimulant users and why certain treatment approaches are more effective.

The brain exposed to stimulants abuse causes addiction-Stimulant Abuse and the Brain

The fundamental problem in dealing with any substance of abuse is to understand “the target” (the user). Therefore, to understand why people take drugs such as cocaine and MA and why some people become addicted, we must first understand what these drugs are doing to their target; that is to say, how stimulants affect the user.

Proper engagement of substance abuse and dependence often involve some discussion of the root causes–the societal and risk factors that lead to these conditions. To date, investigators have identified as many as 72 risk factors for substance use and dependence. Among them are poverty, racism, social dysfunction, weak families, poor education, poor upbringing, and substance-abusing peer groups. These risk factors–as well as other environmental and genetic factors–only influence an individual’s initial decision to use substances of abuse. But after initial use, an individual continues to use a substance because she likes its effects: Use modifies mood, perception, and emotional state. All of these effects are modulated through the brain; basic understanding of neuroscience will help us understand this phenomenon.

For substances of abuse to exert their effects, they must first get to the brain. The four most common routes of administering psychoactive (mood-changing) substances are:

Oral consumption (i.e., swallowing)

A swallowed substance goes to the stomach and on to the intestinal tract. Some substances easily pass through the digestive tract into the bloodstream. Other substances are broken down into their chemical components (i.e., metabolized) in the digestive system, thereby destroying the substance.

Intranasal consumption (i.e., snorting)

Inhalation into the lungs (generally by smoking)

Substances that are inhaled into the lungs adhere to the lining of the nasal passages (the nasal mucosa) through which they enter directly into the bloodstream. Inhaled substances are usually first changed into a gaseous form by igniting (e.g., marijuana) or volatilizing by intense heat (e.g., crack cocaine, the ice form of MA). The lungs offer a large surface area through which the gaseous form may quickly pass directly into the bloodstream.

The brain exposed to stimulants abuse causes addiction-Intravenously via hypodermic syringe

Injected substances obviously enter the bloodstream directly, although at a somewhat regulated rate. In these last three routes of administration, substances enter the bloodstream in none metabolized form.

Once a substance enters the bloodstream, it is transported throughout the body to various organs and organ systems, including the brain. Substances that enter the liver may be metabolized there. Substances that enter the kidney may be excreted. If a female substance user is pregnant, and the substance is able to cross the placenta, then the substance will enter the fetus’ bloodstream. Nursing babies may ingest some substances from breast milk.

To enter the brain, a substance’s molecules must first get through its chemical protection system, which consists mainly of the blood-brain barrier. Tight cell-wall junctions and a layer of cells around the blood vessels keep large or electrically charged molecules from entering the brain. However, small neutral molecules like those of cocaine and MA easily pass through the blood-brain barrier and enter the brain. Once inside the brain, substances of abuse begin to exert their psychoactive effects.

The brain exposed to stimulants abuse causes addiction-The Nervous System

The human nervous system is an elaborately wired communication system, and the brain is the control center. The brain processes sensory information from throughout the body, guides muscle movement and locomotion, regulates a multitude of bodily functions, forms thoughts and feelings, modulates perception and moods, and essentially controls all behavior.

The brain is organized into lobes, which are responsible for specialized functions like cognitive and sensory processes and motor coordination. These lobes are made up of far more complex units called circuits, which involve direct connections among the billions of specialized cells that the various substances of abuse may affect.

The fundamental functional unit of the brain’s circuits is a specialized cell called a neuron, which conveys information both electrically and chemically. The function of the neuron is to transmit information: It receives signals from other neurons, integrates and interprets these signals, and in turn, transmits signals on to other, adjacent neurons.

The brain exposed to stimulants abuse causes addiction-The Limbic Reward System

The brain circuit that is considered essential to the neurological reinforcement system is called the limbic reward system (also called the dopamine reward system or the brain reward system). This neural circuit spans between the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the nucleus accumbens. Every substance of abuse–alcohol, cocaine, MA, heroin, marijuana and nicotine–has some effect on the limbic reward system. Substances of abuse also affect the nucleus accumbens by increasing the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which helps to regulate the feelings of pleasure (euphoria and satisfaction).

Dopamine also plays an important role in the control of movement, cognition, motivation, and reward. High levels of free dopamine in the brain generally enhance mood and increase body movement but too much dopamine may produce nervousness, irritability, aggressiveness, and paranoia that approximates schizophrenia, as well as the hallucinations and bizarre thoughts of schizophrenia. While too little dopamine in certain areas of the brain results in the tremors and paralysis of Parkinson’s disease.

Natural activities such as eating, drinking, and sex activate the nucleus accumbens, inducing considerable communication among this structure’s neurons. This internal communication leads to the release of dopamine. The released dopamine produces immediate, but ephemeral, feelings of pleasure and elation. As dopamine levels subside, so do the feelings of pleasure. But if the activity is repeated, then dopamine is again released, and more feelings of pleasure and euphoria are produced. The release of dopamine and the resulting pleasurable feelings positively reinforce such activities in both humans and animals and motivate the repetition of these activities.

Dopamine is believed to play an important role in the reinforcement of and motivation for repetitive actions and there is an increasing amount of scientific evidence suggesting that the limbic reward system and levels of free dopamine provide the common link in the abuse and addiction of all substances. Dopamine has even been labeled “the master molecule of addiction.”

The brain exposed to stimulants abuse causes addiction-How it happens

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