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
Plasma produces KO cocktail for MRSA
Nov 26, 2009 |
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MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) and other drug-resistant bacteria could face annihilation as low-temperature plasma prototype devices have been developed to offer safe, quick, easy and un ...
Up a little on the left... now, over to the right... Scientists find a source of nonallergic itch
Dec 22, 2009 |
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Scratching below the surface of a troublesome sensation that's equal parts tingle-tickle-prickle, sensory scientists from Johns Hopkins have discovered in mice a molecular basis for nonallergic itch.
DNA needs a good editor: Researchers unravel the mysteries of DNA packaging
Dec 14, 2009 |
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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.
High-blood-pressure treatment for the over-80s too aggressive, warns expert
Dec 23, 2009 |
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People over 80 years are being treated too aggressively for high blood pressure, warns an expert in an editorial in BMJ Clinical Evidence this week.
Britain bans 'legal high' drugs
Dec 23, 2009 |
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Britain banned several drugs known as "legal highs" Wednesday amid mounting public concern about their health risks.
Finding the Achilles' heel of cancer
Dec 10, 2009 |
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A never-approved drug developed to prevent the death of nerve cells after a stroke can efficiently kill cancer cells while keeping normal cells healthy and intact, an international team led by a Tel Aviv University ...
Family life can lead to cannabis disorders
Dec 09, 2009 |
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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.
The hidden lives of proteins
Dec 02, 2009 |
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An important Brandeis study appearing in the December 3 issue of Nature raises the curtain on the hidden lives of proteins at the atomic level. The study reports that for the first time, researchers used x ...
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 ...
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 ...
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.
Cannabis and adolescence
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Dec 17, 2009 |
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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 ...
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. ...
Brain Scan Study Shows Cocaine Abusers Can Control Cravings
Nov 30, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- When asked to inhibit their response to a "cocaine-cues" video, active cocaine abusers were, on average, able to suppress activity in brain regions linked to drug craving, according to a new ...
Epilepsy Drug Shows Promise in Treating Kidney Disease
Medicine & Health / Medications
Dec 03, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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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 ...
