ACCELERATION OF AGEING BY DRUG ADDICTION
Addiction is one of the leading
problems that face our society today. There have been several studies done in
this area most of which have not looked addition in the angle of body growth
and diminishing. The studies that have been done only indicate how alcohol
dependency has affected the society. The reason I decided to look at this study
is that it puts addition into a whole new perspective. The perspective is where
we get to look at addition as an agent of premature ageing. As defined in the
research, biological ageing allows an individual’s organs to diminish in
function chronological while ageing in addiction forces some body functions to
shut down before the age-appropriate time.
The research presents various
definitions, citing examples of ageing also. One of which is that of reduction
of life expectancy by ten years for an average smoker due to not only cancer
complication but also due to vascular and pulmonary systems damage. The study
seeks to confirm that substance use accelerates the ageing process. It,
therefore, proposes that early diagnosis is vital to prevent premature
morbidity and mortality.
Genetic factors can enhance hemodynamic
reactivity in addition to pulmonary system damage. With the combination of
ones’ environmental and psychosocial, addiction phenomenology could enhance the
ageing process. Other than what addition does to the body, it is also
associated with high-risk behavior that may affect the individual’s health and
ultimately accelerating the ageing process. The behavior may include
unprotected sex and intravenous drug use which activate the immune and
inflammatory systems and in many cases fastening the vasculature ageing.
Lifestyle factors could also be a contributor to a high rate of ageing and
ageing related diseases. For example, limited health support and follow-up
care, insufficient sleep and exercise and even poor nutrition could accelerate
the ageing process. The factors could not be directly related, but with a
combination of drug use like cocaine and alcohol addiction, they intensify the
low quality of life. With the need to sleep so that one can rejuvenate, these
factors may not pave for that and as a result faster-ageing process.
Addition causes oxidative stress and
cellular ageing. According to the study, oxidative stress happens when oxygen
or nitrogen levels increase beyond the levels of the cellular antioxidant. When
the levels of oxygen or nitrogen are lower, they have a positive function that
promotes the rejuvenation of damaged cells. Drugs that are addictive inhibit
the growth of cells, and as a result, ageing becomes more rampant. Exposure to
this oxidants, stress hormones and inflammation expedite the ageing process.
In biological ageing, the weight of a
brain of a human being depreciates by 5% a decade after the age of 40. However,
the effects are the same for a cocaine addict where the volume reduction of the
brain is seen twice the percentage of reduction of a healthy brain that takes
place every year. A significant decline in cognitive function for the addict is
seen over time which is an indicator of ageing. Other than the brain, addition
causes irreversible changes in other parts of the body like kidney liver and
lungs.
The article concludes with the
assurance that addition causes certain biomarkers of changes. It also proposes
a further study on the area to assist on how early detection can be done to
reduce premature morbidity and mortality.
Additional articles
Children’s commercial sex exploitation is not something new. The illegal act is otherwise recognized by laws of the United States as domestic minor sex trafficking usually abbreviated as DMST. It involves sexual exploitation of minors (victims u...Review-of-a-DMST-Article …
Read ArticleMost students demonstrate a passive-aggressive behavior when assigned an essay or project of some sort. Most of these students have little or no interest at all for writing, and the least they can do with these assigned essays is to turn in a half-ba...How-Do-You-Write-an-Effective-Essay? …
Read ArticleIntroduction From the earliest years of the European settlement in North America, whites enslaved and oppressed the black people. In as much as the civil war eventually led to the ending of slavery, the harsh system against the black people co...Civil-Right:-Freedom-Riders …
Read Article