Brain Tumor Induced Neurotoxicity Case Study

Morphine is a highly addictive opiate psychoactive painkiller. It is often used before or after surgery to alleviate severe pain. Morphine acts by attaching to specific proteins called opioid receptors, which are found in the brain, spinal cord, and gastrointestinal tract. The drug was originally derived from the poppy seed plant before it was chemically enhanced and manufactured. Starting off, the drug was used to cure alcoholism and certain types of addictions. This didn’t last very long considering morphine was found to be much more addictive than alcohol. In the early 1900s, morphine was identified as a controlled substance under the Harrison Act. The Harrison Act was put in place to control morphine by making it only legal for those

Glioblastoma (pronounced like gleO blastoma) is an incurable brain cancer,Survival rate is usually measured in months.This became a word that was instantly defined, researched, dissected, feared, and tried to comprehend and understand by family,friends and acquaintances of Larry McKee (McKee)who was personally affected from this single word, it was quickly added to their vocabulary, because of the of the events that transpired on October 22, 2011 that forever changed lives “Glioblastomas are tumors that arise from the astrocytes- the star-shaped cells that make up the “glue-like,” or supportive tissue of the brain. These tumors are usually highly malignant (cancerous) because the cells reproduce quickly and they are supported by a large network of blood vessels.”(A.B.T A..) He was diagnosed with stage four.

Brain cancer develops from cells within the brain. The brain controls the vital functions of the body, including, speech, movement, thoughts, feelings, memory, sight, hearing, and more. Brain cancer affects people in many different ways. Brain cancer is diagnosed at the local stage in 76.6% of people. The 5-year survival for localized brain and other nervous system cancer is 36.3%. Brain cancer will cause anything from headaches to balance and walking problems, changes in your vision, muscle twitches, memory problems, and nausea and vomiting.

The opioid epidemic in America continues to grow at an alarming rate with no end in sight. All narcotics are derived from the opium poppy plant and then manufactured into different forms of drugs such as morphine, heroin, and other pharmaceutical and synthetic opioid drugs sold on the market for pain. Opium derived drugs block and suppress pain by binding to and stimulating the natural receptor sites for endorphins found in the central nervous system of a user’s brain. Patients who are prescribed narcotic drugs can quickly become addicted to the drugs because their body’s will stop producing endorphins and instead

Next, there is an extensive history of opioid use for pain management, and other symptom management as well. Morphine can be traced back to Civil War veterans trying to manage pain and, consequently, being addicted. “‘Drugs were already on the scene and being consumed at alarming rates long before the start of the war,’ said Mark A Quinoes, a scholar who studied drug abuse during the Civil War.” It was not until 1898 that heroin was on the market for commercial sale, considered a “wonder drug,” it began to spread in use along with users that found out injecting it would increase its effects. There was little known about these new opioids, they were even used as cough suppressants. Heroin worked for what is was being used as, a pain suppressant, and there were few other options. In 1914 the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act imposed a tax on importing and selling opium or coca leaves. In 1924 doctors were avoiding using opioids after being aware of their addictive nature which lead heroin becoming illegal. Without this opioid, doctors had to get creative when treating World War II soldiers, this sparked research into nerve blockers. These nerve blockers managed pain without the use of surgery. This was, unfortunately, not the end of the opioid. While these results were shocking the pharmaceutical industry still faces much leniency from the federal

To date, morphine and other opioids remain essential analgesics for alleviating pain. However, their use is plagued by major side effects, such as analgesic tolerance (diminished pain-relieving effects), hyperalgesia (increased pain sensitivity), and drug dependence. This paper examines the good, the bad, and the arguable of taking opioids, while also trying to answer the age old question: Is it worth it?

Since endorphins keep us from feeling pain, morphine and heroin can also stop pain signals from traveling to the brain. They would make us feel euphoric, and our body could easily get addicted to morphine and

These receptors, located throughout the brain, spinal cord, and digestive tract, are typically responsive to endogenous opioid peptides (EOPs) including endorphins, enkephalins, and dynorphins released by neurons in their attempt to suppress pain12. When exogenous opioid drugs such as heroin and morphine are introduced, the opioid receptors, MOR in particular, are especially susceptible to their actions including a massive release of dopamine. When the receptors are repeatedly exposed to exogenous substances, a tolerance quickly builds as the MOR desensitizes and decreases its response to opioid agonists . Such desensitization is a critical component in the establishment of opioid addiction and the necessity of larger agonist

In the alleviation of pain in chronic conditions such as cancer and rheumatoid arthritis, opioids are used. The codeine that falls under opioids is ten times less efficient compared to morphine. Some opioid analgesics such as hydromorphone are more potent compared to morphine, reports Rxlist. The opioid drugs act by binding to opioid receptors in the central nervous system. Unlike other analgesics that inhibits cyclooxygenase enzymes involved in mediating the

effect the same structures, however; they way those structures are effected but different opiates can vary. Morphine, and opiates in general, affect four parts of the brain, which are the brainstem, the cerebral cortex, the cerebellum, and the middle brain. The way that morphine acts on these parts of the brain and its various effects leads to abnormal behavior within these areas (Gahlinger, 2004). The first region that is affected by morphine is the brainstem, which is responsible for many of the automatic actions our bodies do such as breathing, sleeping, and regulation. Since morphine directly affects this area of the brain, the drug can easily disrupt these automatic functions of our bodies that would ultimately result in a coma or death.

Since their development, Opiate painkillers have proved invaluable in the healthcare industry. The need for analgesia has been prevalent since the beginning of time itself and opium has been used as early as Ancient China and fought over in wars such as the Opium Wars. More modernly, this substance has been synthesized for potency and purity in achieving the ultimate pain reliever. It exists in drugs today such as OxyContin, Norco, Percocet, morphine, Dilaudid, Opana, and Demerol. In addition to relieving pain, these medications also produce euphoria and bind to opiate receptors in the brain which contribute to the development of forming an addiction. Opiate Addiction only grows as an issue in the United States due to its availability and lack of knowledge regarding addiction on behalf of patients receiving pain medication. This is why finding an effective cure or treatment to opiate addiction is imperative. Individual treatments for opiate addiction such as replacement therapy, rehabilitation, and support groups are flawed by themselves, however, in combination provide the most effective treatment for opiate addiction.

Moreover, the induction of mu-opioid receptor (MOR1) activity can effectively increase NADH/NADPH-mediated ROS synthesis via activating the phospholipase D2 (PLD2) [14]. Then, NADH/NADPH oxidase is a key downstream enzyme responsible for generating opioid-induced ROS. The role of morphine in the regulating function of NADPH oxidase has been previously demonstrated [15]. It has been shown that the morphine up-regulates the expression of heme oxygenase (HO-1) which leads to an induced occurrence of macrophage apoptosis and reduced macrophage migration [16]. Both ROS and MAPK signaling pathways are required for the full induction of HO-1 activity [17]. Accordingly, the opioids may increase the expression of HO-1 through a ROS- and MAPK-dependent manner. The function of some other oxidative stress-related enzymes including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) is decreased by opioids [18]. However, Dave et

Once codeine phosphate gets into the body, it gets metabolized into morphine (Kirchheiner et al., 2007). Gastrointestinal mu-opioid receptors get activated as morphine binds to it (Thomas et al., 2008) and this activation of gastrointestinal mu-opioid receptors

Morphine, an opioid agonist, is relatively selective for the mu receptor, although it can interact with other opioid receptors at higher doses. In addition to analgesia, the widely diverse effects of morphine include analgesia, dysphoria, euphoria, somnolence, respiratory depression, diminished gastrointestinal motility, altered circulatory dynamics, histamine release, physical dependence, and alterations of the endocrine and autonomic nervous systems.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), predominantly caused by a ruptured aneurysm, is a devastating neurological disease that has a morbidity and mortality rate higher than 50% [1]. Early brain injury (EBI) was reported as the primary cause of mortality and poor outcomes in SAH patients [2-4]. Therefore, novel therapeutic strategies aiming at elucidating EBI after SAH are required. It has been proven that a series of complex pathophysiological processes are involved in the pathogenesis of EBI. Among them, neuronal apoptosis plays a vital role [3,5,6]. Therefore, preventing neuronal apoptosis can be a prospective target to improve severe neurological deficits and outcomes in patients with SAH.