Addictive Factor: New research findings show that estrogen and progesterone hormones play a role in addiction and relapse after quitting.
Research shows that drug abuse in many people begins with prescription painkillers. But why some people are more likely to become dependent and addicted by taking drugs containing narcotics.
Addictive Factor, Jessica Lueth and Daniel Menovich, neuroscience researchers at Rowan University in New Jersey, USA, write in an article published on the Conversation website that scientific evidence suggests that gender may play a role in both the likelihood of developing addiction and returning to addiction.
The findings show that women are more likely to be prescribed narcotic drugs than men, and the speed of their transition from primary drug use to abuse caused by addiction is higher. In addition, women are more likely to relapse than men when withdrawing from drugs, and withdrawal symptoms may be more severe in them. Therefore, women may be at greater risk of relapse after withdrawal.
Addictive Factor Maybe Related To Sex Hormones
Addictive Factor, Opioid drugs reduce pain by binding and activating proteins called opioid (narcotic) receptors in various parts of the brain and spinal cord. The brain also produces its own natural opioids called endogenous opioids. The increase in estrogen level increases both the number of opioid receptors and the amount of some endogenous opioids in different parts of the brain. These changes can play a role in the difference in the amount of pain relief caused by narcotics in the menstrual cycle.
In the research on mice, it was found that mice press the lever to receive intravenous injection of heroin less in the time period leading to ovulation, which shows that the desire to use heroin decreases with the increase in estrogen levels.
Addictive Factor, Newer evidence suggests that this may also be the case with prescription narcotics, and that oxycodone’s effect is reduced when estrogen and progesterone levels are high or have just fallen from their peak.
These findings can play an important role in prescribing drugs containing narcotics, and gender and hormonal status should be taken into account in order to reduce the risk of turning drug use into addiction.
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