New approaches to dealing with opioid drug dependence

New approaches to dealing with opioid drug dependence.

Lumbar Sympathetic Block for resistant to treatment causalgia in patient with opioid dependence.

Abstract Background & Aim: Lumbar sympathetic block is a commonly used technique for sympathetically mediated pain in lower extrimity. Causalgia (CRPS type 2 ) is also accepted to be associated with sympathetic system activation. Treatment of this condition is difficult, especially when the patient has opioid dependency. there has not been any report regarding lower-extremity lumbar sympathet...

Commentary: New View on Treatment of Drug Dependence

In the 1960s, discovery of pleasure system (defined as reward system) in the brain that may underlie drug reward and addiction encouraged many scientists to investigate the mechanisms by which drug abuse affects central nervous system function. In this regard, investigators developed several drugs targeting the brain reward system for drug dependence therapy. However, no positive results obtain...

New approaches to neuroprotective drug development.

All prior drug development programs of neuroprotective agents were unsuccessful for a variety of reasons related to both preclinical assessment and the design/implementation of clinical trials. The neuroprotection hypothesis of improving functional outcome related to salvaging ischemic brain tissue is strongly supported by robust preclinical data for many agents. In the future, monotherapy neur...

New approaches to the treatment of opioid-induced constipation.

Opiates are indispensable for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. The gastrointestinal tract is one of the major victims of the undesired effects of opiates, because the enteric nervous system expresses all major subtypes of opioid receptors. As a result, propulsive motility and secretory processes in the gut are inhibited by opioid analgesics, and the ensuing constipation is one of the m...