Opioids have long been used to treat acute pain or cancer-related pain, and occasionally opioids are prescribed for certain chronic, non-cancer pain as well. They can also be highly addictive substances, and the threat of abuse can become a real concern for patients who need these drugs to manage pain.
Below, Dr. John Franklin, Director of the Addiction Psychiatry Division at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, discusses the benefits and dangers of prescription opioids.
What are some of the most common opioids?
JOHN FRANKLIN, MD: They fall into two major categories. There are opioid drugs that are derived from naturally occurring substances, drugs like morphine and codeine, and then there are synthetic types of opioid medications, like Oxycontin, Vicodin, and Norco.
How do these medications work? What effect do they have on the body?
We have naturally occurring pleasure centers in the brain that contain what we call "opioid receptors." Receptors are like catcher mitts that receive the chemicals and turn on the pleasure system. That's why these drugs have such a powerful effect. The pleasure of the medication depends on what kind of medicine it is, how it's administered, and how it's used. Medicines that get to the brain quicker, that have a steeper rise in the blood level, are more pleasurable or euphorigenic. So if the drug is given thorough the vein (IV), you actually get a more powerful high than if you take it by mouth, because it gets to the brain quicker.
Copyright 2009 NBC Health
Click here to read the rest of the article at HealthVideo.com
