Create a 5 page essay paper that discusses Pharmacotherapy Application.Download file to see previous pages... Thus, much larger doses has to be consumed to reach the drug’s desired effects, which is

Create a 5 page essay paper that discusses Pharmacotherapy Application.

Thus, much larger doses has to be consumed to reach the drug’s desired effects, which is accompanied by the temporary alleviation of depression or anxiety, or the induction of excitement. Usually withdrawal symptoms are experience without an increase in the dosage. Chemical dependency is a primary disease that has specific symptoms and it should not to be confused with stress, poor relationships, or unmanageable work demands. Thus chemical dependency can be effectively treated like other diseases. Indeed, pharmacotherapy, the use of drugs in the treatment of diseases, is used in the management of chemical dependence. Usually consists of two approaches, abstinence-based treatment and replacement-based harm reduction, pharmacotherapy aimed at getting and maintaining the patient in a drug-free state. The abstinence-based treatment is mostly recommended. however, if for whatever reason it is not possible, then the replacement-based harm reduction may be employed. Pharmacotherapy in an abstinence-based model is typically associated with drug detoxification, and involved the use of drugs designed to reduce craving and improve treatment outcomes. On the other hand, harm reduction for chemical dependency “involves the use of drugs that will occupy the addicted drug receptors much like the addict's drug of choice, at a dose that will prevent the induction of withdrawal symptoms” (Marley, Chemical Addiction, Drug Use, and Treatment, 2001). The fundamental idea in the latter treatment approach is to maintain the drug addict in an addicted state, but with a legalized chemical substance. The article will discuss the five common drugs use to treat chemical dependence. Discussion Naltrexone Marketed under the trade name Revia and Depade, Naltrexone is an opioid receptor antagonist used primarily in the management of alcohol dependence as well as opioid dependence. Naltrexone is the N-cyclopropylmethyl derivative of 14-hydroxydihydromorphinone. It is marketed in its hydrogen chloride salt. Together with its metabolite 6-?-naltrexol, naltrexone is a competitive antagonist at the ?- and к-opioid receptors and to a lesser extent at the ?-opioid receptors. It ability to block opioid receptor makes it effective in the chemical dependence management of opioid. In fact, it blocks the effects of opioids. Though the mechanism of its action in the management of alcohol dependence is yet to be fully comprehend, it is hypothesis that it is likely due to the modulation of the dopaminergic mesolimbic pathway, which is believed to be activated by all major drugs (Shader, 2003). Naltrexone is also used for the rapid detoxification of opioid dependence. The detoxification involves inducing opioid-receptor blockage while the addict is maintained in a state of partial consciousness in order to reduce the withdrawal symptoms. Currently, there is disagreement on whether detoxification should be carried out under partial consciousness as a result of the associated rapid and severe withdrawal that occurs when naltrexone displaces the opiates from the receptor sites. The main use of naltrexone is of alcohol dependence. The standard regimen involved administrating one 50 mg tablet per day. The drug reduce craving for alcohol.