Causes and Treatment of Addiction - Research Paper Example

?  Causes and treatment of addiction 0 Introduction Medically addiction is said to begin with the basic or primary pleasure and reward circuits that are found in the brain and these involve the chemical substance called dopamine. The reward centers that are found in the brain are designed in such away that they activate during acts of pleasure such as eating. Ingestion of a substance causes the reward circuits in the brain ton activate and whenever this happens dependence or addiction is possible. The destructive addictions include alcoholism, alcohol intoxication, drug abuse and dependence, cocaine abuse, narcotic abuse, substance abuse, and methamphetamine abuse. It has been proved that individuals with addictions often are unable to quit on their own, therefore, addiction is a disease or an illness and hence requires treatment, which may include behavioral therapies, medical treatment, self-help groups, and counseling. Every disease that requires treatment has causes and this research paper establishes the causes and treatments of addiction (Nash & Johnson, 2007). An article entitled “The Neurosurgical Treatment of Addiction” published on Medscape (2008) defined substance dependence or addiction as a psychiatric condition or disorder (Stelten, Noblesse, Ackermans, Temel, & Visser-Vandewalle, 2008). According to the definition from this article, substance dependence or addiction is a chronic relapse illness or disease that is characterized by a strong physical and psychological dependence, and results in withdrawal syndrome when drug use is stopped. The purpose of the neurological treatment of addiction article was to describe the various psychosurgical procedures that are used in addiction treatment. The review also reported the treatments of addictive disorders that are substance related using DBS (Nash & Johnson, 2007). A study that was conducted concerning the globalization of addiction, however, reported a contrary view on the treatment of addiction. The article authored by Bruce Alexander (2008) maintains that the scientific medicine has not yielded any good results when considering the treatment of addiction. The study actually proposes that there is no methods that are reliable to prevent, cure, or remove the pain of addiction. The study argues that instead of the scientific treatments of addiction, the problem should be perceived as a social and political one since addiction is political and social problem and not an individual problem. This view does not; however, alter the increased evidence that has been reported by various research works that addiction is an illness or a disease of the brain that can be treated. A research published on The Medical Association American Journal (JAMA) (2009) about addiction treatment and drug abuse in the criminal justice system shows that it improves the public safety and health (Chandler, Fletcher, & Volkow, 2009). 2.0 Methods The methods that were used when researching on the “The Neurosurgical Treatment of Addiction” were a search for articles in MEDLINE that concerned addiction surgery, dependence behavior, psychiatric disorder, and psychosurgery. The articles that were obtained were then searched for the relevant references, and the ones adopted were the original research done on human subjects, and written in German and English. An assumption to pick articles written in only two languages and not diversified reduced the chances of getting more information (Stelten et al., 2008 Alexander (2008) in his book “The Globalization of Addiction: A Study in Poverty of the Spirit “conducted a research and the methods he used included the clinical reports, quantitative research, and spam to conclude that addiction is a social problem. The methods utilized when conducting research on the treatment of addiction and drug abuse in the criminal justice department or system was a review on the various research studies or works that had been conducted on the issue of drug abuse and addiction treatment and the report from the criminal justice department on drug offenders. The sample size of the three studies varied from one research study to another and, therefore, captured the general view on addiction treatment. 3.0 Results The results obtained in the study of neurosurgery, in addiction, indicated that the treatment was a success in 80% of the addicts of morphine, 90% success in the addicts of meperidine, and 68% success recorded in the addicts of alcohol. The study also indicated that no neurological or psychological deficit occurred after surgery. Another study under this survey proposed that psychological dependence on addiction could possibly be a manifestation of OCD. The research conducted on the treatment of addiction using the hypothalamotomy (unilateral ventromedial) gave results which indicated that a number of patients had side effects and hence the treatment of addiction using this method was to be limited. Concerning resection of Substantia Innominata treatment method, no results were obtained after a successful treatment of one patient. Ablation of nucleus Accumbens method, which involves the prevention of the craving for drugs after a process of detoxification and causing the reduction in the rate of relapse, is another addiction treatment method that has been tried. Research on this method showed that the incidence rate of the complications was 19.2% and that some patients would experience a temporary memory loss. This study concluded that the ablation of Nucleus Accumbens method was safe, and the method could be used to cure addiction. The DBS (Deep brain stimulation), which is being used currently to treat addiction had two studies conducted on it and in both studies a good effect on the disability of the motor was reported. The results concerning the treatment of addiction and drug abuse in the criminal justice department or system indicated that when this is done the safety and health of the public is improved (Chandler, Fletcher, & Volkow, 2009). The interpretation of the results that were obtained in each of the studies outlined above only focused on the scientific treatment of addiction and as Alexander argues that addiction is not only one person’s or an individual’s problem but also a society problem, other therapies such counseling and behavioral play important role in the treatment and hence should be considered. 4.0 Discussion The strength of the study on neurological treatment of dependence or addiction is that it provides a strong scientific basis that addiction or dependence is a disease or an illness, and like other illness it can be treated. However, the study does not consider the other therapies like behavioral, which could at times be applied solely without the scientific treatments. The study on addiction and drug treatment within the criminal justice department or system has the strength of capturing both the scientific and social perspective that is required for addiction treatment success. The study correlates the treatment with social and health benefits, which include the safety of the public. Alexander, on the other hand, only gives the social and political perspective of addiction treatment and argues that science has failed. The aspect of the study leaning on one side of treatment is a weakness that most of the studies portray. A research that covers the treatment of addiction from political, social, and scientific perspective should be conducted in the future. The statistical analysis should involve both quantitative and qualitative methods and not only the quantitative. 5.0 References Alexander, B.K. (2008). The Globalization Of Addiction: A Study In Poverty Of The Spirit. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Stelten, B.M. L., Noblesse, L.H.M., Ackermans, L., Temel, Y., & Visser-Vandewalle, V. (2008). The Neurosurgical Treatment of Addiction. Neurosurg Focus, 25 (1): E5 Chandler, R.K., Fletcher, B.W., & Volkow, N.D. (2009). Treating Drug Abuse and Addiction in the Criminal Justice System: Improving Public Health and Safety. The Journal of American Medical Association, 301(2):183-190. Nash, M.C., & Johnson, J.B. (May 15, 2007). Addiction. eMedicineHealth. Retrieved from http://www.emedicinehealth.com/addiction/article_em.htm Read More