Opioid Peptides in Substance Abuse


Book Description

Opioid Peptides in Substance Abuse presents an encyclopedic survey of in vivo data examining the interrelationship between endogenous opioids and substance abuse. It emphasizes two main groups of abused substances (morphine congeners and psychostimulants) and addresses the following questions:




Magnesium in the Central Nervous System


Book Description

The brain is the most complex organ in our body. Indeed, it is perhaps the most complex structure we have ever encountered in nature. Both structurally and functionally, there are many peculiarities that differentiate the brain from all other organs. The brain is our connection to the world around us and by governing nervous system and higher function, any disturbance induces severe neurological and psychiatric disorders that can have a devastating effect on quality of life. Our understanding of the physiology and biochemistry of the brain has improved dramatically in the last two decades. In particular, the critical role of cations, including magnesium, has become evident, even if incompletely understood at a mechanistic level. The exact role and regulation of magnesium, in particular, remains elusive, largely because intracellular levels are so difficult to routinely quantify. Nonetheless, the importance of magnesium to normal central nervous system activity is self-evident given the complicated homeostatic mechanisms that maintain the concentration of this cation within strict limits essential for normal physiology and metabolism. There is also considerable accumulating evidence to suggest alterations to some brain functions in both normal and pathological conditions may be linked to alterations in local magnesium concentration. This book, containing chapters written by some of the foremost experts in the field of magnesium research, brings together the latest in experimental and clinical magnesium research as it relates to the central nervous system. It offers a complete and updated view of magnesiums involvement in central nervous system function and in so doing, brings together two main pillars of contemporary neuroscience research, namely providing an explanation for the molecular mechanisms involved in brain function, and emphasizing the connections between the molecular changes and behavior. It is the untiring efforts of those magnesium researchers who have dedicated their lives to unraveling the mysteries of magnesiums role in biological systems that has inspired the collation of this volume of work.




Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Save Lives


Book Description

The opioid crisis in the United States has come about because of excessive use of these drugs for both legal and illicit purposes and unprecedented levels of consequent opioid use disorder (OUD). More than 2 million people in the United States are estimated to have OUD, which is caused by prolonged use of prescription opioids, heroin, or other illicit opioids. OUD is a life-threatening condition associated with a 20-fold greater risk of early death due to overdose, infectious diseases, trauma, and suicide. Mortality related to OUD continues to escalate as this public health crisis gathers momentum across the country, with opioid overdoses killing more than 47,000 people in 2017 in the United States. Efforts to date have made no real headway in stemming this crisis, in large part because tools that already existâ€"like evidence-based medicationsâ€"are not being deployed to maximum impact. To support the dissemination of accurate patient-focused information about treatments for addiction, and to help provide scientific solutions to the current opioid crisis, this report studies the evidence base on medication assisted treatment (MAT) for OUD. It examines available evidence on the range of parameters and circumstances in which MAT can be effectively delivered and identifies additional research needed.




Pain Management and the Opioid Epidemic


Book Description

Drug overdose, driven largely by overdose related to the use of opioids, is now the leading cause of unintentional injury death in the United States. The ongoing opioid crisis lies at the intersection of two public health challenges: reducing the burden of suffering from pain and containing the rising toll of the harms that can arise from the use of opioid medications. Chronic pain and opioid use disorder both represent complex human conditions affecting millions of Americans and causing untold disability and loss of function. In the context of the growing opioid problem, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched an Opioids Action Plan in early 2016. As part of this plan, the FDA asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to convene a committee to update the state of the science on pain research, care, and education and to identify actions the FDA and others can take to respond to the opioid epidemic, with a particular focus on informing FDA's development of a formal method for incorporating individual and societal considerations into its risk-benefit framework for opioid approval and monitoring.




Opioids in Non-Cancer Pain


Book Description

This pocketbook summarizes the recent developments in this important and controversial aspect of pain management, looking at the benefits and adverse effects of opioids in non-cancer pain.




Pharmacological Treatment of Mental Disorders in Primary Health Care


Book Description

This manual attempts to provide simple, adequate and evidence-based information to health care professionals in primary health care especially in low- and middle-income countries to be able to provide pharmacological treatment to persons with mental disorders. The manual contains basic principles of prescribing followed by chapters on medicines used in psychotic disorders; depressive disorders; bipolar disorders; generalized anxiety and sleep disorders; obsessive compulsive disorders and panic attacks; and alcohol and opioid dependence. The annexes provide information on evidence retrieval, assessment and synthesis and the peer view process.




Pathways of Addiction


Book Description

Drug abuse persists as one of the most costly and contentious problems on the nation's agenda. Pathways of Addiction meets the need for a clear and thoughtful national research agenda that will yield the greatest benefit from today's limited resources. The committee makes its recommendations within the public health framework and incorporates diverse fields of inquiry and a range of policy positions. It examines both the demand and supply aspects of drug abuse. Pathways of Addiction offers a fact-filled, highly readable examination of drug abuse issues in the United States, describing findings and outlining research needs in the areas of behavioral and neurobiological foundations of drug abuse. The book covers the epidemiology and etiology of drug abuse and discusses several of its most troubling health and social consequences, including HIV, violence, and harm to children. Pathways of Addiction looks at the efficacy of different prevention interventions and the many advances that have been made in treatment research in the past 20 years. The book also examines drug treatment in the criminal justice setting and the effectiveness of drug treatment under managed care. The committee advocates systematic study of the laws by which the nation attempts to control drug use and identifies the research questions most germane to public policy. Pathways of Addiction provides a strategic outline for wise investment of the nation's research resources in drug abuse. This comprehensive and accessible volume will have widespread relevanceâ€"to policymakers, researchers, research administrators, foundation decisionmakers, healthcare professionals, faculty and students, and concerned individuals.




Opioids and Their Receptors


Book Description

The interest in opioids such as morphine, the prototypical opioid ligand, has been maintained through the years. The identification of endogenous opioids and their receptors (mu, delta, kappa, and nociceptin), molecular cloning, and the elucidation of the crystal structures of opioid receptors represent key milestones in opioid research. The opioid system modulates numerous pharmacological responses, with therapeutic (i.e., analgesia) and detrimental side effects (i.e., addiction). The medical use and misuse of opioids have dramatically increased, leading to the 21st century opioid crisis. This book presents recent developments in opioid drug discovery, specifically in the medicinal chemistry and pharmacology of new ligands targeting the opioid receptors as effective and safe therapeutics for human diseases. Furthermore, it draws a special attention to advancing concepts and strategies in opioid drug discovery to mitigate opioid liabilities. The diversity among the discussed topics is a testimony to the complexity of the opioid system, which results from the expression, regulation, and functional role of ligands and receptors. The array of multidisciplinary research areas illustrates the rapidly developing basic research and translational activities in opioid drug discovery. This book will serve as a useful reference while also stimulating continued research in the chemistry and pharmacology of opioids and their receptors, with the prospect of developing improved therapies for human diseases, but also improving health and quality of life in general.




The Neuroscience of Cocaine


Book Description

The Neuroscience of Cocaine: Mechanisms and Treatment explores the complex effects of this drug, addressing the neurobiology behind cocaine use and the psychosocial and behavioral factors that impact cocaine use and abuse. This book provides researchers with an up-to-date understanding of the mechanisms behind cocaine use, and aids them in deriving new pharmacological compounds and therapeutic regimens to treat dependency and withdrawal symptoms. Cocaine is one of the most highly abused illicit drugs worldwide and is frequently associated with other forms of drug addiction and misuse, but researchers are still struggling to understand cocaine's neuropharmacological profile and the mechanisms of its effects and manifestations at the cognitive level. Cessation of cocaine use can lead to numerous adverse withdrawal conditions, from the cellular and molecular level to the behavioral level of the individual user. Written by worldwide experts in cocaine addiction, this book assists neuroscientists and other addiction researchers in unraveling the many complex facets of cocaine use and abuse. - Contains in each chapter an abstract, key facts, mini dictionary of terms, and summary points to aid in understanding - Illustrated in full color - Provides unique full coverage of all aspects of cocaine and its related pathology - Provides researchers with an up-to-date understanding of the mechanisms behind cocaine use, and aids them in deriving new pharmacological compounds and therapeutic regimens to treat dependency and withdrawal symptoms




Itch


Book Description

Advances in itch research have elucidated differences between itch and pain but have also blurred the distinction between them. There is a long debate about how somatic sensations including touch, pain, itch, and temperature sensitivity are encoded by the nervous system. Research suggests that each sensory modality is processed along a fixed, direct-line communication system from the skin to the brain. Itch: Mechanisms and Treatment presents a timely update on all aspects of itch research and the clinical treatment of itch that accompanies many dermatological conditions including psoriasis, neuropathic itch, cutaneous t-cells lymphomas, and systemic diseases such as kidney and liver disease and cancer. Composed of contributions from distinguished researchers around the world, the book explores topics such as: Neuropathic itch Peripheral neuronal mechanism of itch The role of PAR-2 in neuroimmune communication and itch Mrgprs as itch receptors The role of interleukin-31 and oncostatin M in itch and neuroimmune communication Spinal coding of itch and pain Spinal microcircuits and the regulation of itch Examining new findings on cellular and molecular mechanisms, the book is a compendium of the most current research on itch, its prevalence in society, and the problems associated with treatment.