Related topics: cancer , patients , food and drug administration
Drug
hideA drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.
In pharmacology, Dictionary.com defines a drug as "a chemical substance used in the treatment, cure, prevention, or diagnosis of disease or used to otherwise enhance physical or mental well-being." Drugs may be prescribed for a limited duration, or on a regular basis for chronic disorders.
Recreational drugs are chemical substances that affect the central nervous system, such as opioids or hallucinogens. They may be used for perceived beneficial effects on perception, consciousness, personality, and behavior. Some drugs can cause addiction and habituation.
Drugs are usually distinguished from endogenous biochemicals by being introduced from outside the organism.[citation needed] For example, insulin is a hormone that is synthesized in the body; it is called a hormone when it is synthesized by the pancreas inside the body, but if it is introduced into the body from outside, it is called a drug.[citation needed]
Many natural substances such as beers, wines, and some mushrooms, blur the line between food and drugs, as when ingested they affect the functioning of both mind and body.
For more information about Drug, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with drug
Researchers creating model of HIV care for developing nations
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
13 hours ago |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Expanding Michigan State University's global health outreach, a team of researchers is working in the Dominican Republic to establish a model for HIV/AIDS care that can be exported to other resource-limited ...
Researchers Identify Tuberculosis Strain That Thrives on Antibiotic
16 hours ago |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have identified a strain of antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis that thrives in the presence of rifampin, a front-line drug in the treatment of tuberculosis. The bacterium was identified in a patient ...
The use and misuse of alcohol and marijuana can be traced to a common set of genes
Dec 18, 2009 |
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Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. Roughly eight to 12 percent of marijuana users are considered "dependent" and, just like alcohol, the severity of symptoms increases with heavier use. ...
Antidepressants cut risk of hospital readmission for suicidal youth
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Dec 17, 2009 |
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Suicidal adolescents who were prescribed an antidepressant medication during inpatient psychiatric hospital treatment were 85 percent less likely than others to be readmitted within a month after discharge, a new study found.
Cannabis and adolescence
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Dec 17, 2009 |
2 / 5 (5) |
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Canadian teenagers are among the largest consumers of cannabis worldwide. The damaging effects of this illicit drug on young brains are worse than originally thought, according to new research by Dr. Gabriella Gobbi, a psychiatric ...
Researchers discover novel method for detecting MIRCERA
Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry
Dec 16, 2009 |
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Austrian researchers have successfully developed a new electrophoretic method for detecting MIRCERAź and other erythropoietins (EPO) in the blood. The technique, using SARCOSYL-PAGE, has specifically enhanced sensitivity ...
Stopping a Stroke in its Tracks: Catheter Device Restrores Blood Flow to Brain by Suctioning Blood Clots
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 15, 2009 |
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Bobbie Laird was suffering a life-threatening stroke triggered by a blood clot in her brain that was nearly half an inch long.
Time for a new view of late-life dementia
Dec 15, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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Two new studies published in the December 16, 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association point to the need for a broader scientific perspective on late-life dementia, according to an editorial in the sa ...
Malaria cases likely half in third of countries
Dec 15, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Malaria cases appear to have been slashed by half in more than a third of countries battling the disease following a renewed push by the United Nations to eradicate it, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.
Teen marijuana use tilts up, while some drugs decline in use
Dec 14, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Marijuana use among American adolescents has increased gradually over the past two years (three years among 12th-graders) following years of declining use, according to the latest Monitoring the Future study, ...
Nanoprobes hit targets in tumors, could lessen chemo side effects
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Dec 14, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Tiny nanoprobes have shown to be effective in delivering cancer drugs more directly to tumor cells - mitigating the damage to nearby healthy cells - and Purdue University research has shown that the nanoprobes ...
DNA needs a good editor: Researchers unravel the mysteries of DNA packaging
Dec 14, 2009 |
3.4 / 5 (5) |
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Imagine a huge spool of film containing thousands of sequences of random scenes. Without a talented editor, a screening would have no meaning.
Clinical trial advances new approach to re-sensitizing breast cancer
Dec 13, 2009 |
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A new drug cocktail might be the right mix to fight breast cancer after it becomes resistant to standard therapy. Details of a new study supporting this approach suggest it's possible to re-sensitize tumors thus allowing ...
FDA confirms benefits of Crestor in more patients
Medicine & Health / Medications
Dec 11, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Federal scientists say AstraZeneca's cholesterol pill Crestor lowers the risk of heart attack, death and stroke in patients without a history of heart disease, though some safety concerns remain.
Easily led 'ash-tray': Adolescent smokers prone to drug abuse
Dec 11, 2009 |
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It is common knowledge that smoking is a health risk but why do teens become addicted to smoking more easily than adults? In an evaluation for Faculty of 1000 Biology, Neil Grunberg looks into why adolescents are more prone ...
