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Understanding the Mechanisms of Action and Effects of Drugs of Abuse
Aim. Drug abuse and addiction are major public health concerns, with millions of people worldwide affected by the negative consequences of drug use. To better understand this complex issue, a review was conducted to examine the mechanisms of action and effects of drugs of abuse, including their acut...
Autores principales: | , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
MDPI
2023
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10343642/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37446631 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules28134969 |
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author | Ciucă Anghel, Daniela-Mădălina Nițescu, Gabriela Viorela Tiron, Andreea-Taisia Guțu, Claudia Maria Baconi, Daniela Luiza |
author_facet | Ciucă Anghel, Daniela-Mădălina Nițescu, Gabriela Viorela Tiron, Andreea-Taisia Guțu, Claudia Maria Baconi, Daniela Luiza |
author_sort | Ciucă Anghel, Daniela-Mădălina |
collection | PubMed |
description | Aim. Drug abuse and addiction are major public health concerns, with millions of people worldwide affected by the negative consequences of drug use. To better understand this complex issue, a review was conducted to examine the mechanisms of action and effects of drugs of abuse, including their acute and chronic effects, the symptoms of abstinence syndrome, as well as their cardiovascular impacts. Methods. The analyzed data were obtained after surveying an electronic database, namely PubMed, with no time limit, grey literature sources, and reference lists of relevant articles. Results. The review highlights the different categories of drugs of abuse, such as opioids, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, and cannabis, and discusses the specific ways that each drug affects the brain and body. Additionally, the review explores the short-term and long-term effects of drug abuse on the body and mind, including changes in brain structure and function, physical health problems, and mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety. In addition, the review explores the effects of drug abuse on cardiovascular health, focusing on electrocardiogram changes. Moreover, the analysis of relevant literature also highlighted possible genetic susceptibility in various addictions. Furthermore, the review delves into the withdrawal symptoms that occur when someone stops using drugs of abuse after a period of chronic use. Conclusion. Overall, this review provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge on drug abuse and addiction. The findings of this review can inform the development of evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies to address this critical public health issue. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-10343642 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2023 |
publisher | MDPI |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-103436422023-07-14 Understanding the Mechanisms of Action and Effects of Drugs of Abuse Ciucă Anghel, Daniela-Mădălina Nițescu, Gabriela Viorela Tiron, Andreea-Taisia Guțu, Claudia Maria Baconi, Daniela Luiza Molecules Review Aim. Drug abuse and addiction are major public health concerns, with millions of people worldwide affected by the negative consequences of drug use. To better understand this complex issue, a review was conducted to examine the mechanisms of action and effects of drugs of abuse, including their acute and chronic effects, the symptoms of abstinence syndrome, as well as their cardiovascular impacts. Methods. The analyzed data were obtained after surveying an electronic database, namely PubMed, with no time limit, grey literature sources, and reference lists of relevant articles. Results. The review highlights the different categories of drugs of abuse, such as opioids, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, and cannabis, and discusses the specific ways that each drug affects the brain and body. Additionally, the review explores the short-term and long-term effects of drug abuse on the body and mind, including changes in brain structure and function, physical health problems, and mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety. In addition, the review explores the effects of drug abuse on cardiovascular health, focusing on electrocardiogram changes. Moreover, the analysis of relevant literature also highlighted possible genetic susceptibility in various addictions. Furthermore, the review delves into the withdrawal symptoms that occur when someone stops using drugs of abuse after a period of chronic use. Conclusion. Overall, this review provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge on drug abuse and addiction. The findings of this review can inform the development of evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies to address this critical public health issue. MDPI 2023-06-24 /pmc/articles/PMC10343642/ /pubmed/37446631 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules28134969 Text en © 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
spellingShingle | Review Ciucă Anghel, Daniela-Mădălina Nițescu, Gabriela Viorela Tiron, Andreea-Taisia Guțu, Claudia Maria Baconi, Daniela Luiza Understanding the Mechanisms of Action and Effects of Drugs of Abuse |
title | Understanding the Mechanisms of Action and Effects of Drugs of Abuse |
title_full | Understanding the Mechanisms of Action and Effects of Drugs of Abuse |
title_fullStr | Understanding the Mechanisms of Action and Effects of Drugs of Abuse |
title_full_unstemmed | Understanding the Mechanisms of Action and Effects of Drugs of Abuse |
title_short | Understanding the Mechanisms of Action and Effects of Drugs of Abuse |
title_sort | understanding the mechanisms of action and effects of drugs of abuse |
topic | Review |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10343642/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37446631 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules28134969 |
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