Related topics: patients
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
Family life can lead to cannabis disorders
13 hours ago |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- One in five young people experience a cannabis use disorder, according to a UQ and Mater Hospital study published today in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.
A new mouse could help understand how some lung cancer cells evade drug treatment
23 hours ago |
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Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide and lung adenocarcinoma is the most common type. Many cases of lung adenocarcinoma are attributed to a mutation in a gene for the epidermal growth factor receptor ...
British researchers: little evidence Tamiflu works
Medicine & Health / Medications
Dec 08, 2009 |
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(AP) -- British researchers say there is little evidence Tamiflu stops complications in healthy people who catch the flu, though public health officials contend the swine flu drug reduces flu hospitalizations and deaths.
GAO: FDA yet to make safety changes post-Vioxx
Medicine & Health / Medications
Dec 09, 2009 |
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(AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration still hasn't restructured its staff to better monitor drug safety, more than three years after experts recommended key changes in the wake of the Vioxx scandal.
Many dialysis patients undergoing PCI receive improper medication, with higher risk of bleeding
Dec 08, 2009 |
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Approximately 20 percent of dialysis patients undergoing a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI; procedure such as angioplasty) are given an antithrombotic medication they should not receive, which may increase their risk ...
Antiepileptic drugs not linked to suicide among those with bipolar disorder
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Dec 07, 2009 |
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Despite government warnings about an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and actions while taking antiepileptic drugs, these medications do not appear to be associated with increased risk of suicide attempts in individuals ...
Second-line CML drugs evoke faster response than front-line therapy
Dec 07, 2009 |
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Two medications approved as treatment for drug-resistant chronic myeloid leukemia continue to provide patients with quicker, better responses as a first treatment than the existing front-line drug, researchers at The University ...
Deaths related to narcotic pain relievers have doubled since 1991: Study
Dec 07, 2009 |
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Deaths from opioid use in Ontario have doubled -- from 13.7 deaths per million residents in 1991 to 27.2 deaths per million residents in 2004 -- according to a new study led by physicians at St. Michael's Hospital and the ...
Multiple myeloma patients experience high response rate with new 3-drug combination
Dec 06, 2009 |
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A new three-drug combination has shown in a phase 1/2 clinical trial that it is a "highly effective regimen" in the treatment of patients newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of white blood cells in bone marrow, ...
New study finds barriers to pain treatment in children with sickle cell disease
Dec 06, 2009 |
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A new study by researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin, in Milwaukee, found a substantial variation in hydroxyurea utilization for pain and other sickle cell disease complications in children. Barriers to its use ...
2 heads better than 1 in new antibiotic method
Dec 03, 2009 |
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An antibiotic that binds to a well-established target in a novel and unexpected way could be the inspiration for designing new, more potent antibacterial drugs.
Epilepsy Drug Shows Promise in Treating Kidney Disease
Medicine & Health / Medications
Dec 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- An anti-convulsant drug commonly used to treat epilepsy reduces cysts in mice that are associated with polycystic kidney disease (PKD), a difficult to treat ailment that afflicts 600,000 people in the United ...
The buzz on fruit flies: New role in the search for addiction treatments
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 03, 2009 |
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Fruit flies may seem like unlikely heroes in the battle against drug abuse, but new research suggests that these insects — already used to study dozens of human disease — could claim that role. Scientists ...
'Doughnut hole' unites seniors wary of health bill
Dec 04, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Lawmakers have wooed seniors skeptical of the health care overhaul by emphasizing the plan would close the "doughnut hole" - a gap in Medicare drug coverage that can cost thousands of dollars a year.
