International Conference on Addiction Research & Therapy

Dubai, UAE

November 26-27, 2018

Addiction is a heightened elevation of psychological dependence on both materialistic and non-materialistic charisma. It is a state of mind wherein neurochemicals have reached sufficed alteration. Bias in the cognitive and physical functioning of the human body is concatenated with addiction. The time and material involved in addiction is variant of age, willpower and health. Not all addictive products are illegal, addiction can latch on from alcohol to caffeine. Every time the reward pathway in the brain is triggered, addiction plays down the tune of harmony. Substance abuse can tear out physical well being greatly and Behavioral addiction can deprive the mental and social well being. The craving for a particular aspect is where addiction becomes neurocognitive.

Not all drugs are illegal. Few drugs are available as a prescription medicine in the form of sedatives, anxiolytic, analgesic and stimulants in pharmacies. Alcohol and cigarettes are legalized in most countries and inevitably available in abundance. Prescription drugs are harmful only if admitted in overdose or without a doctor’s prescription. Especially schedule X drugs which are classified as narcotics or nerve agents are most harmful to encountering overdosage. Though few drugs are illegal, there remain no restraints in their availability. The intoxication effects of each drug vary. Drug abuse showcases strong anti-social behaviour.

Unlike Drug addiction, substance addiction specifies the effects achieved during a drug abuse. It is not the compulsive need to uptake the specific drug, but achieve the end feel of drug abuse at any cost. Substance abusers are not drug specific, rather they are the feel specific. They are found in a constant state of intoxication of any form. They access such states to attain recreational purposes. When the brain is able to amplify Euphoric effects, substance abusers feel at ease. There is a severing need for the individual to maximize their euphoric levels and they throw the highest threads to ebb psychosis of all kinds.

The condition leading to a disrupted cognitive distinction of reality from hallucinations is majorly caused by drug abuse. It ramps the threats to health and social behaviour. Drug abusers have a serious loss of contact with external reality. It often accompanies false beliefs, seeing or listening to things that are not real. Dopamine plays a major role in psychosis. It can also lead to detachment from society and aggressive behaviour. Psychosis treatment involves extensive counselling and sedative drug application to ease the mental aggression that arises. Suicidal thoughts may arise due to psychosis at later stages.

Addiction can primarily occur as a result of genetic vulnerability, social stress and psychological dependence. Alteration in quantities of neurochemicals present in the brain causes addiction. Neurochemicals include neurotransmitters, neuromodulators and neuropeptides. Each of these neurochemicals has distinctive regulation patterns, pathways and functions. Dopamine(3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine) is a neurotransmitter and neuromodulator associated with Reward-motivated behaviour, present in the midbrain, VTA, cerebral cortex, hypothalamus. Pleasure and reward, movement, attention, memory are concomitants of dopamine. High levels of dopamine, achieved by psychostimulants, induce addiction. Psychostimulants act as reuptake inhibitors of dopamine, thus stagnating higher concentration in synaptic clefts. The irresistible urge is created thus.

The Adrenaline or epinephrine pump during the ‘trip’ accounts in major activation of reward pathway. It sets arise to an avalanche of events such as elevated heart rate, vasoconstriction, and increased cardiac output. Adrenaline is more activated in the presence of a stimulant drug.

Non-adrenaline or norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter that erodes the brain of attention and responding actions. It clogs the mental ability to reason and respond.

Glutamate aids in cognitive functions such as learning and memory, but larger quantities of glutamate can affect the neurons. Primarily psychostimulants flood the brain of neurochemicals, large proportions of glutamate starts flooding the brain and damages the brain cells, thus causing brain damage or stroke.

Drugs also greatly activate Endorphin, which is a long chain of amino acid, released during exercise, excitement, pain and sexual activity. It is exponentially concerned with Euphoria.

Every Glitch in the mental health causes a severe stumble in the behavioural health of a drug abuser. On withdrawal from Stimulant addiction, no physical distress or suffering is experienced whereas alcohol addiction variably employs physical sufferings of the individual. In opiate addiction withdrawal, cravings are experienced which suit the direct form of psychological dependence. Withdrawal efforts are equally as harmful as addiction as in trauma, self-inflicting of pain, aggression, irritably and ultimately paving out to suicidal thoughts. Withdrawal remains challenging unless the society or the close circles of the individual extend deep anchored supports.

Stimulant withdrawal bores in intensive efforts as initial consumption of stimulant causes considerable alterations in dopamine levels in the brain and thus seeding behavioral changes. Stimulant withdrawals are psychology induced promising to seek major withholds from the individual’s mind.

Alcohol withdrawal is more society induced and causes physical trauma like shivering, tremors, anxiety. It can be restrained by consistent counseling and good efforts from the individual.

Nicotine being readily available on vast in a market and negligibly cheap, withdrawal from smoking is most initiated with smoking supplements and alteration in lifestyle and diet.

In 2014, around 31,000 people deceased from heroin or prescription opioids overdose. An estimated 12 percent of children in America live with a substance abuse parent. The National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) estimates that around 50% of the children and teens placed in foster care hold a documented reason for parental drug abuse.

Tobacco, marijuana, alcohol, cocaine and heroin are accounted to cause sterility and thus prominently affecting the reproductive system of he drug abuser.  

Stimulant drug abuse is quiet harmful considering sharing of injection needles and thus exponentially increasing the risks of acquiring Human Immuno Deficiency Diseases like HIV, Hepatitis.

Alcohol stars in 40% of all violent crimes today. Crimes like Drunk and drive, rape, murder and destruction of public properties occurs mainly under the influence of drugs and alcohol intoxication. Every year in the U.S., drunk and drive avows approximately 10,000 lives and estimates a cost of $194 billion. In 2014, alcohol implied driving fatalities bundled 9,967 deaths (31% of the overall driving fatalities). 1.9 million juvenile arrests are quoted under substance abuse circumstances. Most drunk and drive accidents result in immediate death. Alcohol is believed to be the fourth leading avoidable deaths in the US.

Alcohol being readily available and considered a social drink, most people fall prey to alcohol addiction. Alcohol poses a major threat causing DNA methylation and inhibition in neural stem cell differentiation. DNA methylation significantly affects gene expression as alcohol hinders the process and access of folate and inhibition in neural stem cell differentiation retards olfaction, neural receptors and neural development. Alcohol consumption by pregnant woman affects the fetus greatly causing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Alcohol on entering the liver sets off a cascading epigenetic change resulting in liver damage, liver cancer and immunological problems.

Addiction is a curable disease. It can be cured with proper Therapy and treatment. It is a multifaceted disorder. If it is treated with proper treatment it can be cured easily and effectively. Treatments for addiction are given to the person individually which give more attention towards the person. Treatment gets betters if the patient does regularly with the proper instruction of the psychiatrist. Counselling and behavioural therapy are given to the majority of the patient which help them to get cure faster. And many therapies are to discuss. Intervention is also kind of treatment to give to the addicted person. And it recovers them from addiction. In order to cure the addiction here are some therapies

Yoga and pull back methodologies have been planned to give typical cures, which impedes the postponed usage of any substance. People who are normally wiped out are prescribed to keep running with yoga as it restores cerebrum limits and keeps worry. Meditation brings the mid the condition of rest, in which a human consider introduce. Move and music treatments are given to individuals to bring a beam of expectation inside them that despite everything they can perform superior to others. It is a leave design from life's consistently stresses and an opportunity to broaden one's comprehension of self and the comprehensive imperativeness that incorporates and support us. Descend into sin offers an exact procedure for educating the abuser to see and direct fall away from the faith advised signs.

As the Domino play, as one perfect strike is found and the line goes off the rail. The beginning point is where it all matters. The step follows has to be contemplated based on every patient’s seeking. There needs to be thorough blood analysis, age determination, proximity level of relapse, root for the indulgence in specific addiction, a rate of addiction and the tripping levels. BAC gives the Blood Alcohol Concentration in any individual and breath alcohol analyzers are widely used in instant alcohol tests. The confirmatory test for opiates is urine test and the urine sample must contain codeine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, morphine, hydromorphone, oxymorphone, noroxycodone, noroxymorphone, norhydrocodone, dihydrocodeine, and naloxone in specified quantities and for morphine, it is serum test. After calibrating the results obtained on intoxication levels of each individual corresponding next level treatment plans are laid out.

Average spending for methadone maintenance treatment is around $4700, but a full year of imprisonment costs around $24,000 per person. Every dollar spent on addiction treatment programs show a promising return in $4 to $7 reduce in drug-related crime and criminal justice costs. Many governmental and non-governmental organizations are set up to offers programs for many addiction treatments. Both cost-free and paid programs are available. The effectiveness of these programs are solely dependent on patient’s willpower and consistently follow up on programs.

An individual may suffer from a serious mental illness or health issues and may slip into drug abuse as a psychological relief. For example, people suffering or in the stake of a coronary artery disease are prescribed Isordil (isosorbide dinitrate) tablets to provide act as analgesic, as the time course extends with prolonged usage, patients might no longer need Isordil as a biological reliever but will need it is a serious psychological dependence, even when isordils are replaced with a placebo, the name alone stands to suffice to help them treat their ailment. Thus when opioid medications treat pain, they are used highly not just for pain relieving but to achieve depressant states at ease. There are prevalent cases where a Psychosis or schizophrenia patient prescribed of opioid medication latter turned into an opioid drug abuser.

DADSS (Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety) aims at providing state of art technology in Drunk and Drive scenarios that which does not intervene normal driving. It ensures ongoing research on non-invasive testing of BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration) levels to ensure maximum security while driving. In 2008, feasibility testings were carried out. It aims at equipping new vehicles with DADSS systems to administer BAC levels above or at 0.08%. These are designed to be precise, reliable, fast, tamper-resistant and durable. It is being tailored to administer BAC levels by breath analysis and touch. In DADSS breath analysis, the driver exhales into the sensor enabling carbon dioxide and alcohol concentrations to enter and based on the IR wavelength returned by these particles alcohol concentration is determined. In DADSS touch systems, the IR radiations are applied across the human skin and the returning wavelength is used to calculate alcohol concentrations

Physical withdrawal symptoms of heroin include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping, bone aches, cold sweats and diarrhoea. Heroin being a stimulant drug, regulates more psychological impacts like insomnia, agitation, fatigue, tremors, anxiety and mainly craving. People trying to withdraw from heroin have faced high rates of dehydration from vomiting and diarrhoea.

Cold Turkey means the abrupt cessation of any abused drug and treating the later effects with a complementary product. In case of heroin cold turkey process, withdrawal signs can be eased with the use of Methadone, a slow acting opioid and has the same effect as heroin in the brain but eliminating the harsh damages caused by heroin. Naltrexone can also be used in cold turkey treatment as in to block the opioid receptors in the brain and hence preventing craving. A step advanced stays Suboxone, a combination of buprenorphine and naltrexone, which helps block the opioid receptor, as well as eases the withdrawal pain.

Warm turkey treatment refers to voluntary withdrawal response from an individual, unlike forced or sudden cessation. This employs more recreational or social activities aids, than those of complementary drug usage to ease the pain and hardship of withdrawal.

DBS is employed to treat movement disorders and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). DBS involves simulation of specific brain regions with electrodes. There are reports that show the effectiveness of the reduction in substance abuse like alcohol, nicotine and heroin in humans after encountering DBS treatments for depression.

Addiction shows alteration in gene expression in a mesocorticolimbic projection of nucleus accumbens. Studies on rodents set forth platforms of a claim that brain stimulation of nucleus accumbens reduces cocaine and alcohol consumption. Alterations in glutamatergic transmission in nucleus accumbens happen during withdrawal sessions. Studies on treating refractory alcohol dependence show results in the reduction of cravings and in some individuals the treatment prove very effective in entire retraction