Drugs, Diseases, and Drugs, Diseases, and NeurotransmittersNeurotransmitters

By: Allie

Ashley

Courtney

Gayle

Alex

AlcoholAlcoholAlcohol accumulates in the blood because its absorption occurs more rapidly than its oxidation and excretion.It depresses the CNS, and once the CNS adapts to the drug, ones tolerance grows.Alcohol depresses nerves that control involuntary actions like breathing and the gag reflex.

The stages of alcohol effects:

1. Depressed brain functions in the frontal lobe.

2. Speech and vision are slurred. Eyes are glassy and pupils are slow to respond.

3. Voluntary muscular control loss. Loss of muscle tone, fine motor skills, coordination, reflexes and reactions are slower.

4. Respiration and heart rate are lowered.

5. Conscious brain is completely subdued, black outs occur.

Blood Alcohol Content Levels:Blood Alcohol Content Levels:

.05=calmness, social high

.08=legal limit, reduced coordination

.20=confusion, reduced memory, unable to stand

.30=pass out

.40= death or coma.

The effect of food on blood alcohol concentration. The graph shows BAC after a person drank alcohol following an overnight fast (solid line) and immediately after breakfast (dotted line).

Facts About AlcoholFacts About Alcohol Alcohol interacts with Gamma Amino Butyric Acid

(GABA) receptors in the brain. When alcohol is converted in our bodies it turns to

NADH alcohol inhibits blood from transporting oxygen to blood

cells When alcohol is present in the blood stream it directly

effects the hypothalamus When an alcohol-containing drink is consumed, the

alcohol is quickly absorbed in the blood by diffusion and is then transported to the tissues and throughout the water-containing portions of the body

Chemical structure of ethanol which is what alcohol is converted to in the body.

Disulfiram is a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat alcoholism.

Alcohol acts primarily on the nerve cells within the brain. It interferes with communication between nerve cells and all other cells, suppressing the activities of excitatory nerve pathways and increasing the activities of inhibitory nerve pathways. 

Glutamine is an excitatory neurotransmitter that alcohol weakens making one sluggish because it is less effective. Alcohol does this by interacting with the receptors on the receiving cells in these pathways.

EpiduralEpidural

Anesthesia- no feeling Analgesia- no pain Blocking parts of spinal cord and

nerve Decrease prostaglandin (hormone) Moving, urination, drop in blood

pressure Catheter in lumbar below cauda

equina

Neurotransmitter: GlutamateNeurotransmitter: Glutamate

WHERE THEY ARE USED:CNS Synaptic CleftCerebral Cortex

WHAT IS THEIR ROLE:An excitatory neurotransmitterBelieved to be involved in cognitive

functions like learning and memory.

EXCESS:Triggers a process called excitotoxicity has been linked to Alzheimer’s and

epileptic seizures

LOW SUPPLY:Loss of body cell mass

What happens when there is too little or too much glutamate?

GlutatmateGlutatmate

Tetanus (lockjaw)Tetanus (lockjaw)Causes painful, uncontrolled muscle spasmsspores of the bacterium Clostridium tetani

enter the body through an open wound and produce a powerful nerve poison

Tetanus spores are usually found in soil, dust, and animal waste

Prevent tetanus through immunization and proper care of wounds

Signs and symptomsSigns and symptoms

headache spasms or cramping of the jaw muscles as the poison spreads it causes spasms in

the neck, arms, legs, and stomach, and sometimes violent seizures

ResultsResults

In the United States, 3 of every 10 persons who get tetanus die from it.

For those who survive, recovery can be long (1-2 months) and difficult– Muscle spasms usually decrease after about 2 weeks

and disappear after another week or two, but the person may be weak and stiff for a long time.

– Other complications include breathing problems, bone fractures, high blood pressure, abnormal heartbeats, clotting in the blood vessels of the lung, pneumonia, and coma.

BibliographyBibliography

Pollak, Edward I. “Diagrams of Neurons, Synapses, Neuroanatomy, and Endocrinology” http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://mywebpages.comcast.net/epollak/PSY255_pix/tetanus.JPG&imgrefurl=http://mywebpages.comcast.net/epollak/PSY255_pix/PSY255_pix.htm&h=1460&w=995&sz=264&tbnid=6GeSUf9tw0xFFM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=102&hl=en&start=1&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtetanus%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D

Directors of Health Promotion and Education. “Tetanus.” http://www.astdhpphe.org/infect/tetanus.html