Cocaine and Stimulant Induced Skin Picking

May 7, 2015

Cocaine and Stimulant Induced Skin Picking: Why you must consider quitting

Cocaine and Stimulant Induced Skin Picking and this is not working for the beauty of your skin at all.

For quite sometimes now we have been addressing the issues surrounding substance abuse. We have dealt with various effects of drugs and so far we are not seeing anything good about drugs. And what is worrying is that even though this piece of information is now consumable by many people, drug related conditions are still on the rise. One of the most disturbing conditions is the way cocaine is rearranging peoples’ faces and transforming their lives negatively. Even though this is very evident and the victims themselves can see for themselves the damage caused by cocaine addiction on the mirror, they are still very much hooked into their addiction. This is what we have been addressing and for the purpose of this article, we are going to focus on beauty and how cocaine and stimulant induced skin picking. Before we settle into the discussion, I want to share with you an experience one of the patients went through and this is also a representation of what many addicts are also going through.

For the purposes of confidentiality I will refer to the patient as GK. After abusing cocaine for some time, one day he stood before his mirror and he dint like what he saw. What was before him was an increasingly common and distressing indicator of excessive cocaine and stimulant use. Skin picking was the problem. He spent several hours before the mirror squeezing and tweezing as the smallest of spots becomes a painful wound. Hair pulled out, bugs under the skin, insects or mites in his clothes and house. We are going to rely on GK experience to shed some light on this extremely upsetting, hidden behavior, examining the chemistry behind it, why it happens and the role cocaine and other stimulants have to play. This is a discussion you don’t want to miss but in the meantime you can schedule for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury the MD and founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center. She will be of greater help to you in all matters relating to addiction and beauty. And now back to the discussion of Cocaine and stimulant induced skin picking…

Cocaine and Stimulant Induced Skin Picking: Skin Picking
Skin picking due to excessive crack cocaine use has become more common as more people use crack disorderly and because of this there is sudden increase in negative health issues linked to this habit. Professionally in the medical understanding skin picking is seen as a compulsive foraging response (CICF – ‘cocaine induced compulsive foraging’) but the compulsion to skin pick has also been called psychogenic excoriation, delusional parasitosis, self-inflicted dermatoses, dermatillomania, formication, or hypoesthesia; which is quite surprising considering that there has been so little research on the subject.

The features of skin picking may include excessive scratching, picking, gouging, lancing, digging and squeezing of normal or slightly marred skin. Even though the whole body can be involved, commonly the most picked areas include; fingernails, face, lips, scalp, arms and legs. This is made possible because drugs like cocaine, methylephenidate, phenelzine amphetamine and anticholinergic drugs often produce increased nerve activity tactile sensations like burning, tingling and crawling (worms under the skin) that can lead to skin picking. So while it is clearly a chemical reaction to the drugs you’re taking, it can be closely linked with psychological issues such as extreme anxiety or childhood trauma. So why do some people skin pick excessively, where others don’t?
Studies suggest that it’s a coping mechanism for dealing with emotional pain. Physical pain distracts the individual and can help to alleviate feelings of guilt through self-punishment. Many S-P’s (skin pickers) report increased levels of tension prior to skin picking and a sense of relief or satisfaction following the picking. Some experience an altered state of consciousness whilst picking resembling a dissocialized state. However, lack of pain during picking episodes may also be related to opioid dysregulation. We can see elevated levels of B-endorphin in S-Ps, because pain, in this case through self-injurious behavior, leads to the release of B-endorphins, which in turn leads to the release of tension.

Victims of childhood abuse often have elevated levels of B-endorphins too, in their CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) in the brain, because of repeated exposure to pain, or from being prohibited to reacting to the infliction of pain. Women with a history of childhood abuse also exhibit increased pituitary adrenaline and automatic heart rate responses to stress. So in many cases, skin picking is a chemical reaction that has been built up from past trauma, where a person’s elevated b-endorphins or ACTH response is reacting with the drug they’re taking: crack cocaine.

Cocaine increases the activity of dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the automatic nervous system associated with pleasure which is important for reinforcement of behaviour.However, for reasons we don’t have the space to go into, too much use of cocaine can lead to a lack of dopamine in your system, which in turn leads to mood and anxiety disorders.

S-Ps often suffers from one or more of the following conditions:

Major depression
Bipolar disorder (manic depression)
Dysthymia (depression tendencies)
Panic attacks
Agoraphobia
Post-traumatic stress
Obsessive compulsive disorder
Eating disorders
Trichotillomania (hair /eyelash/body hair pulling)
Kleptomania (compulsive stealing of objects) and
Body dysmorphic disorder (hated self-image).

Beside the mention conditions, some studies have also established that more than half of the individuals with serious skin picking conditions also reported a history of body rocking, thumb sucking, knuckle cracking, cheek chewing and head banging. Along-side with all these, skin picking also causes a lot of anguish. Like for instance, the victim can feel embarrassed and this may lead to shame and even impaired social functioning and in some cases people withdraw altogether from social activities and confine themselves to their home. Some people also experience medical complications as a result of skin picking, like ulcers, infections, permanent discoloration and scarring. Remember that too much scratching leads to open wounds and sores and when this is combined with injecting, infection can travel from the skin to the blood, causing serious illnesses such as septicemia or endocarditis.

Cocaine and Stimulant Induced Skin Picking: Cocaine Induced Psychosis & ‘Foraging’

Chronic cocaine or crack use can result in cocaine induced paranoia (CIP) and coke-induced compulsive foraging (CICF) type behaviors. ‘Compulsive foraging’ covers a cluster of cocaine induced behaviors of which skin picking is just one. Another ‘foraging disorder’ is when coke users hunt for hours for specs of cocaine around a place where it was once used (also called ‘surfing’). Food deprivation or hunger increases the probability of foraging responses and because it’s an appetite suppressant, coke can make users vulnerable to malnutrition thus continuing foraging behavior. Skin picking is a foraging response.

Cocaine and Stimulant Induced Skin Picking: Why you must consider quitting

How cocaine can destroy your body parts

May 6, 2015

How cocaine can destroy your body parts: What you need to know about Cocaine

How cocaine can destroy your body parts. this crystal dust is no respecter of anyone. Seek for help immediately and be safe

Of all substance of abuse cocaine abuse is the fastest growing drug problem among the middle classes communities. According to a report released by a Police Foundation recently it was stated that there are 120,000 regular users and 360,000 occasional users of cocaine, with 180,000 taking crack cocaine the report concludes. This drug is no respecter of any one and social status is not a factor when it comes to drug addiction. Everyone is vulnerable and we must face the problem boldly without fear. Doctor Akoury is taking the initiative to help you get the best of your life in this article by focusing on the discussion topic which is “how cocaine can destroy your body parts. The chilling revelations doctor Akoury is about to share with us are just but a very small portion of what this drug is capable of doing in your life. It would be appropriate that even as you go through this article, you may want to schedule for an appointment with the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, a health facility founded by doctor Akoury to give her contribution towards eliminating cocaine addiction and other addictive elements. Let us now get to the business of understanding the impact of cocaine in human health.

How cocaine can destroy your body parts: Mental problems

Although cocaine is used because it causes excitement, those addicts who use this drug regularly in high doses can develop short-term sessions of uncontrolled behavior, impaired judgment, impulsive behavior and hyper-sexuality. Besides that, other users are also likely to develop persecutory delusions and hallucinations which often cause them problems with the authorities. When addicts use this drug, it causes them to lose sense of control and occasionally become violent. Yet alongside that muscle twitching and convulsions (fits) are also a risk with heavy use, more so in adolescents who smoke crack, a pure and highly addictive form of the drug. Coma, breakdown of muscles and kidney failure can also occur.

How cocaine can destroy your body parts: Liver

Users of cocaine often combine it with alcohol to deliver more excitement. To them this combination gives them the feeling of the ‘high’ to satisfaction as opposed to when cocaine is used on its own. With this combination, the effect of cocaine is given a boost and the reason behind it is that a new chemical is formed in the liver which has similar effects to cocaine but which last longer in the body. Doctor Akoury sounds a warning that this practice is chillingly dangerous. It is highly associated with liver damages and risk of premature death is 18 times greater with this combination.

How cocaine can destroy your body parts: Chest pain

One of the most common reasons for requiring emergency treatment is the enormous tightening of blood vessels, in the coronary arteries and the rest of the body. Cocaine deprives the heart of its normal blood supply, increasing the risk of a heart attack or a heart rhythm disturbance which might cause the user to drop dead suddenly. The shape of the pattern on the electrocardiogram (heart trace) can look worrying to the doctor, especially as it can change from minute to minute. But in most cases it settles down and no major harm results.

How cocaine can destroy your body parts: Blood pressure

Cocaine releases massive amounts of noradrenaline from the nerve endings, which causes blood vessels right through the body to narrow. This leads to a major surge in blood pressure. To the onlooker, the user looks pale and staring, but there may be no other outward signs of the enormous rise in blood pressure. However the rise in blood pressure is not permanent, but may still cause a heart attack or stroke and repeated use causes long-term damage to the blood vessels.

Blood vessels

One of the most vulnerable organs from the abuse of cocaine is the heart aorta which is the main blood vessel in the body. A surge in blood pressure following cocaine use forces the blood between the inner and outer casings of the aorta and each time the heart pumps this false passage becomes longer and more liable to block off a branch vessel or to burst, with possibility of fatal results.

Brain

Regular cocaine use can lead to a bulging weakness in the wall of a branch point of the arteries in the brain. This is often called a berry aneurysm. Eventually this aneurysm bursts, and blood pouring out of the leak is known as a subarachnoid hemorrhage. If not corrected, it can cause major damage to the brain. This damage can be permanent leading to difficulties in thought, speech, sight and movement.

How cocaine can destroy your body parts: Nose

Cocaine powder is ‘snorted’ into the nostrils, and although it is rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream, the drug also causes the blood vessels in the lining of the nose passages to shrink. Shortly after use, the blood vessels widen again, and the red, runny stuffed-up nose of the recent user can be a telltale sign. Repeated cocaine use leads to loss of blood supply to the septum that is the thin bony element dividing wall between the nostrils. This will cause damage to the nose leaving a hole in between the two nose passages. The consequence of this may be the collapse of the nose.

Heart

Consistent use of cocaine causes massive stresses and strains on the blood vessels in the coronary arteries and the rest of the body. This leads to a build- up of cholesterol in the walls of arteries, especially the coronary arteries. A regular cocaine user aged 30 might have blood vessels as old as one at 60-year-old. This may lead to a sudden and unexpected heart attack in a long-term user.

Skin

During treatment and the recovery process, some people may experience some unfriendly crawling feelings beneath the skin as they are withdrawing from cocaine. They may describe cocaine bugs as biting, creeping, burning or itching, and may scratch their skin until it bleeds. Although this sensation can be treated to some extent by tranquillizer type drugs, in most cases the user has to wait until it settles down and goes away of its own accord. Finally cocaine is not any drug you would want to flow in your system. It is highly addictive and life threatening. If you are struggling with this drug, you may have noticed that from this article, very vital organs of the body are all affected by this drug. Your health cannot be compared with anything. You must make a U turn to redeem your life back. Doctor Dalal Akoury will help in every step of the way. All you need to do is to schedule for an appointment with her today.

How cocaine can destroy your body parts: What you need to know about Cocaine

The best treatment solutions for cocaine abusers

May 5, 2015

The best treatment solutions for cocaine abusers: Taking Cocaine head on

The best treatment solutions for cocaine abusers may include group therapy and counseling

Of the societal challenges we are faced with drug addiction is becoming one of the most disturbing one. When one member of the family is struggling with substance abuse, the whole family is concern and a lot of emotional and even physical frustrations are felt. What is worrying is the rate at which the population abusing drugs is increasing. There are several factors that can explain this but the sing denominator is that the increase is getting out of hand if something is not done to correct this. Looking at the impact of substance abuse in our neighborhoods doctor Dalal Akoury made a decision to form a health center whose objective would be to offer solutions to people abusing drugs. At this facility (AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center) doctor Akoury together with her team of experts are offering the best treatment solutions for cocaine abusers among other drug related cases. Therefore if you are struggling with drugs of whichever kind, then you can schedule for an appointment with doctor Akoury today for treatment. In the meantime, let us consider some of the treatment options we have.

Information available indicates that just a few years ago in 2007, cocaine alone accounted for about 13 percent of all admissions to drug abuse treatment programs. The report also revealed that majority of these people sought treatment were mainly cocaine addicts and were also struggling with other drugs other than cocaine meaning that they were poly drug abusers. Doctor explains that the prevalence of cocaine has necessitated renewed efforts to develop treatment programs for cocaine across the globe. And just like with other drugs, cocaine is one of the complex diseases that involve biological changes in the brain as well as myriad social, familial, and other environmental problems. Therefore, a good treatment of cocaine addiction must be comprehensive, and strategies need to assess the neurobiological, social, and medical aspects of the patient’s drug abuse. Moreover, patients who have a variety of addictions often have other co-occurring mental disorders that require additional behavioral or pharmacological interventions.

The best treatment solutions for cocaine abusers: Cocaine Detoxification

For us to have better modes of treatment of cocaine addiction, we must first appreciate and acknowledge that we have a problem that needs to be fixed. No treatment can be successful if the patient is still in denial. It is a fact that patients addicted to cocaine or even other drugs will have a lot of toxic deposit in their systems. These toxics are the biggest problem that detoxification will be addressing in this article. Therefore medical detoxification is a process that systematically and safely withdraws people from addictive drugs. This is usually done under the care of trained physician. Drinking alcohol or using drugs can cause physical dependence over time and stopping them can result in withdrawal symptoms in people with this dependence. The detoxification process is designed to treat the immediate bodily effects of stopping drug use and to remove toxins left in the body as a result of the chemicals found in drugs or alcohol.

Even though as things stand now there is no proven pharmacologic therapy for cocaine addiction, so many kinds of medications have been used in the past in the detoxification of cocaine. It is however worth noting that withdrawal from chronic cocaine use may also result in anxiety, depression and intense cravings for the drugs you are trying to eliminate from your systems. Several types of medications address these issues in different ways. Like for instance:

Antidepressant drugs such as desipramine or a combination of phentermine and fenfluramine have been used to reduce cocaine withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety and depression.
Benzodiazepines, tranquilizers such as Diazepam, have been used to reverse anxiety induced by cocaine withdrawal.
Amantadine, a drug used to treat Parkinson’s disease, may be an effective treatment for cocaine-dependent patients with severe cocaine withdrawal symptoms and may reduce cocaine craving.
Bromocriptine, a drug that works on the brain’s dopamine system, has been used to decrease the craving for cocaine during detoxification and to reduce mood disturbance.
Propanolol, a beta-blocker drug used to treat high blood pressure, may be useful for severe cocaine withdrawal symptoms, as it slows down the effects of adrenaline, thereby calming the body’s “fight or flight” response to stressful situations.
This type of drug has been used to treat general anxiety and anxiety associated with alcohol withdrawal.
Propranolol’s lessening of symptoms such as palpitations and sweating has helped reduce cocaine craving. Its use, however, is not risk free in patients who have taken cocaine and can be associated with decreased blood flow to the heart and other changes that predispose patients to arrhythmia and a severe increase in blood pressure that can lead to a stroke.
Delayed toxic effects are possible. Any use of beta-blockers in this setting requires careful monitoring and caution.

The best treatment solutions for cocaine abusers: Behavioral Interventions

Many behavioral treatments for cocaine addiction have proven to be effective in both residential and outpatient settings. Indeed, behavioral therapies are often the only available and effective treatments for many drug problems, including stimulant addictions. However, the integration of behavioral and pharmacological treatments may ultimately prove to be the most effective approach. Presently, there are no proven medications to treat cocaine addiction. Nonetheless a lot of efforts are being made by NIDA to identify and test new medications.

One form of behavioral therapy that is showing positive results in cocaine-addicted populations is contingency management, or motivational incentives (MI). MI may be particularly useful for helping patients achieve initial abstinence from cocaine and for helping patients stay in treatment. Programs use a voucher or prize-based system that rewards patients who abstain from cocaine and other drug use. On the basis of drug-free urine tests, the patients earn points, or chips, which can be exchanged for items that encourage healthy living, such as a gym membership, movie tickets, or dinner at a local restaurant. This approach has recently been shown to be practical and effective in community treatment programs.

Finally it is important that patients receive only services that match all of their treatment needs. For example, if a patient is unemployed, it may be helpful to provide vocational rehabilitation or career counseling along with addiction treatment. If a patient has marital problems, it may be important to offer couples counseling. These and more are some of the services we offer at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center. When you schedule for that appointment with doctor Akoury, up on carrying out an evaluation on you, she will put you on a tailored treatment program that will directly meet your addiction needs.

The best treatment solutions for cocaine abusers: Taking Cocaine head on

The long and short term effects of cocaine

May 4, 2015

The long and short term effects of cocaine: The chronic nature of Cancer

The long and short term effects of cocaine are all manageable is only preventive measures can be taken

There is no doubt that cocaine is very addictive substance. Its power of addictiveness makes it to be very unpredictable and thus users may not be able to tell or control the extent to which they will continue to want or use the drug. Doctor Akoury says that with these characteristics, if one is to become addicted, the risk for relapse will be very high even after long periods of abstinence. Some studies have established that during periods of abstinence, the memory of the cocaine experience or exposure to cues associated with drug use can trigger tremendous craving and relapse to drug use. It is this craving element that will necessitate the long and short term effects of cocaine which is going to form the basis of this discussion.

Cocaine causes a short-lived, intense high that is immediately followed by the opposite intense depression, edginess and a craving for more of the drug. Users of cocaine often don’t eat or sleep properly. They can experience greatly increased heart rate, muscle spasms and convulsions. The drug can make them feel paranoid, angry, hostile and anxious even when they are just sober and not high. Doctor Akoury says that irrespective of the quantity of drugs used or frequency with which it is used, cocaine increases the vulnerability of addicts into contracting chronic diseases like heart attack, stroke, seizure or respiratory (breathing) failure. These conditions can be life threatening and any of them can result in sudden death.

The long and short term effects of cocaine: What are the long term effects of cocaine?

The phrase “dope fiend” was originally coined many years ago to describe the negative side effects of constant cocaine use. As tolerance to the drug increases, it becomes necessary to take greater and greater quantities to get the same high. Prolonged daily use causes sleep deprivation and loss of appetite. A person can become psychotic and begin to experience hallucinations. And because cocaine interferes with the way the brain processes chemicals, users will in many instances need more and more of the drug just to feel “normal.” People who become addicted to cocaine and even addicts of other drugs may lose interest in other areas of life. Doctor Akoury says that coming down from the drug causes severe depression that an addict will do all that it takes to get the supply even if it would mean that he has to commit murder. In the event that the individual fails to get the drug (cocaine) he or she will suffer even greater depression that can be so much intense that can push them beyond the limit and even turn suicidal. That is the power of cocaine and the reason why we all need to know the long and short term effects of cocaine. This way we will be able to take timely precaution and remedy the situation before it stretches beyond the redeemable levels. Now let us consider some of the long term effect which is associated with cocaine abuse.

The long and short term effects of cocaine: Long term effects

When people abuse cocaine over a period of time, a lot of things can happen in the lives of such individuals. Some of those health implications may include the following:

Permanent damage to blood vessels of the heart and the brain
High blood pressure that will occasionally leads to other chronic health conditions including heart attacks, strokes and even death
The damage of vital organs like the liver, kidney and the lungs
Damages of the nose tissues especially when sneezing
Respiratory failure if smoked
Infectious diseases and abscesses if injected
Malnutrition, weight loss
Severe tooth decay
Auditory and tactile hallucinations
Sexual problems, reproductive damage and infertility which will affect both men and women in the same way
Disorientation, apathy, confused exhaustion
Irritability and mood disturbances
Increased frequency of risky behavior
Delirium or psychosis
Severe depression
Tolerance and addiction (even after just one use)

The point we have highlighted may not be conclusive as far as the long term effects is concern. It would be better if you are up to date will all health information surrounding this substance abuse. Such information in their conclusiveness is available at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center. This is a facility with was founded by doctor Dalal Akoury primarily to offer her exclusive NER Recovery Treatment to everyone including other physicians and health care professionals through training, clinical apprenticeships, webinars and seminars. It may not matter what kind of addiction you are struggling with, there is hope for you with the experts at this facility. All you need to do is to seek for help by scheduling for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury any your condition will be professionally addressed timely leaving you to enjoy life to the fullest. In spite of the long term effects of cocaine abuse, there are also other factors which may not necessarily be of long term but of short term. They may include the following:

The long and short term effects of cocaine: Short term effects

Loss of appetite causing the addict not to feed properly
Intense drug craving
Bizarre, erratic, sometimes violent behavior
Convulsions, seizures and sudden death from high doses (even one time)
Tactile hallucination that creates the illusion of bugs burrowing under the skin
Increased heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature
Contracted blood vessels
Dilated pupils
Disturbed sleep patterns
Nausea
Hyper-stimulation
Intense euphoria
Depression
Panic and psychosis
Increased rate of breathing
Hallucinations, hyper-excitability, irritability
Anxiety and paranoia

Finally it is not just enough to know the long and short term effects of cocaine but it is equally very important that you learn from the past people who had gone through the same experience. And I want to conclude this discussion with a testimony from one former addict who is now sober and he says “don’t touch cocaine. I had to spend four years behind bars just because of this drug (cocaine). And when I got out he continues, life was so hard and unbearable. I started taking the drug again. In this drug business, I have known 10 girls who were full of life but who became prostitutes because of cocaine. It’s much more extreme and degrading than we believe. At the time we don’t realize to what degree it destroys us he concludes.” Choose life and seek for help doctor Akoury will be waiting for your call.

The long and short term effects of cocaine: The chronic nature of Cancer

The inversion of Cocaine in your brain

May 4, 2015

The inversion of Cocaine in your brain: Effects of Cocaine in the Nerve system

The inversion of Cocaine in your brain. Cocaine has an extremely rapid euphoric effect on the user, especially when smoked or snorted.

Cocaine is very addictive and a psychoactive drug affecting the central nervous system primarily. Originally it is prepared from the leaf of the Erythroxylon coca bush, which grows mainly in Peru and Bolivia. The simplicity of its usage has made the inversion of cocaine in your brain more chronic and threatening. As a matter of facts this drug is self-administered in several ways explains doctor Dalal Akoury. The most common method of cocaine abuse is snorting in its powder form into the nasal sinuses, either alone or with the accompaniment of heroin (speedball). This drug is easily available in the streets as a hydrochloride salt which is a fine, white crystalline powder known in several street manes as coke, C, snow, flake, or blow. Besides snorting, the drug can also be administered through smoking which for many is effective in producing quick result as crack cocaine.

According to the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, cocaine produces a wide range of physiological effects in humans, including the stimulation of a plethora of emotional experiences. When people take in cocaine, they become euphoric, over exited, highly active and more talkative than normal. When they use this drug, they experience the feelings of extreme power and alertness. This initial high is followed by sessions of severe anxiety, paranoia, and depression, which often lead to addiction. Those who become addicted to the drug often turn the habit into an obsession, so that they devote more, and more of their time and money to acquiring and using the drug explains doctor Akoury. Therefore what are some of the notable symptoms of addiction for users?

The inversion of Cocaine in your brain: Symptoms of addiction

People who abuse these drugs regularly often exhibit psychotic behavior such as:

Hallucinations
Delusions of persecution
Mood disturbances
Repetitive behaviors

All these closely resemble the symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia. Trained mental health professionals have difficulties in telling a schizophrenic and cocaine addict apart unless they know the patient’s background. Although the psychological and behavioral effects of cocaine use in humans have been well documented, the current knowledge of the neurological basis for the abuse of cocaine in humans is still limited. The majority of knowledge we possess about the mechanisms of the effects of cocaine comes from animal studies performed over the last 20 years. These studies have clearly demonstrated the crucial role of the neurotransmitter dopamine in initiating many of the effects of cocaine use.

The inversion of Cocaine in your brain: Effects on the brain

Cocaine is an indirect dopamine agonist. Once in the brain, it works in large part by occupying, or blocking, dopamine transporter sites in the terminal buttons of neurons in the brain. This prevents the reuptake of dopamine by the neurons that release it, allowing higher concentrations of dopamine to remain in the synapse for an extended period of time. This abnormally long presence, and high concentration, of dopamine in the synapse is believed to cause the high associated with cocaine use. Dopamine has been implicated in several important functions, including movement, attention, learning, and the reinforcing effects of drug use. Therefore, its extended presence in high concentrations will be effective in the particular parts of the brain that control these functions, such as the basal ganglia and the limbic system.

The inversion of Cocaine in your brain: Cocaine and the dopamine transporter

Studies have confirmed that the reinforcing effects of cocaine involve dopamine transporter molecules. In a dopamine study, a group of scientists produced a targeted mutation of the gene responsible for production of the dopamine transporter protein in mice. In their findings, it was established that several compensatory mechanisms in an animal’s brain help it to adapt to the chronically higher level of dopamine resulting from their mutation induced reuptake inability. One of these mechanisms is a large decrease in post-synaptic dopamine receptors, rendering dopamine less effective. Another strategy is a corresponding decrease in the concentration of tyrosine hydroxylase (enzyme responsible for the synthesis of dopamine), decreasing the availability of dopamine. So, when cocaine was administered to these animals, it had no effect on the animal’s behavior since dopamine reuptake no longer occurred due to lack of functional dopamine transporters. This therefore is a demonstration that the dopamine transporter is essential for cocaine to be able to produce its effects.

The inversion of Cocaine in your brain: A quick fix

Cocaine has an extremely rapid euphoric effect on the user, especially in the case of the smoking method of use, because the drug directly enters the pulmonary blood stream when smoked. Cocaine has a relatively short half-life in the plasma and in the brain. When administered intravenously (IV) to humans, the half-life is in the range of 16 to 87 minutes. This short half-life accounts for the rapid euphoric effects of the drug. Typically, when the drug is administered intravenously, it produces a fast “hit-and-run” effect on the potentiation of the extracellular levels of dopamine. Nonetheless when rats are given a continuous flow of dopamine intravenously, they experience a peak in dopamine levels in just 10 minutes followed by a return to regular levels after 20 to 30 minutes. Because the initial high experienced by cocaine abusers lasts for only a short time, the initial stimulatory actions of cocaine can be attributed to the elevation of synaptic dopamine levels.

Finally the use of drugs not necessarily cocaine is not your portion. Nothing actually comes good out of the use or abuse of drugs in whichever way you look at it. Being safe and free from drugs is the best thing you can do for yourself especially if you are already deeply addicted to it. There is help around you and doctor Dalal Akoury made one of the best decisions to give her professional contribution in helping the struggling societies with addiction. She decided 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. You can also be part of this by scheduling for an appointment with her today and your life will be completely transformed for greater productivity ahead of you. Remember that doctor Akoury’s practice focuses on personalized medicine through healthy lifestyle choices that deal with primary prevention and underlying causes instead of patching up symptoms and this will be very good for you too.

The inversion of Cocaine in your brain: Effects of Cocaine in the Nerve system

Tag Archives: Cocaine and stroke