Pain Killers Research question: how do NSAIDS (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) stop pain, how effective are they and what are their side effects? Personal code: gct379 word count: 3937 Abstract, The aim of this essay was to identify the effects of pain killers on the human brain and body. The physical effects can be identified through various experiments but the brain activity is much more complex to analyze, therefore I will be evaluating emotional, and mental abnormalities. In the experiment, I conducted a series of test whereby I identified several people being ill ofa headache. Firstly, I had to be exactly sure what was the cause of the headache was (Lack of sleep, hunger, fatigue etc.) I conducted a survey on 12 people. 6 males and 6 females, to ensure gender balance. and to see whether there could be certain effects affecting one gender only. The experiment was repeated three times, each time with a different pool of people. All painkillers have side effects, even OTC drugs (Drugs that are safe and effective for use by the general public without a prescription are defined as over-the- counter (OTC) drugs) but it’s the narcotic painkillers that carry the highest risk of addiction. My experiment involved three drugs: Aspirin, acetaminophen and ibuprofen Word.count; 214CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION js. APPARATUS AND METHODOLOGY ..... HYPOTHESIS... PROCEDURE... DATA ANALYSIS EVALUATION |... CONCLUSION.... Vii WORKS CITED LIST AND BIBLIOGRAPHY jasnesnisunnnnnititnnianonnensnsnnanensnsense VitIntroduction ‘The purpose of my experiment was to find out what the effects of painkiller drugs are on the brain and body. ‘The reason why I chose this topic is because in the IB syllabus we don’t study much about human brain. Itis part of the options in 1B, but I wanted to do a little bit of investigation on this topic for my own understanding of it. 've always been curious about drugs what makes them so dangerous. The abuse of drugs was what fascinated me to choose the topic; I wanted to find out more about them. How over dosage kills and what percentage of the world is addicted to drugs, these interesting facts are key to further understanding how they work and maybe even enhance them. Growing up I hated taking medicine and I still do. I disliked the idea of taking medicine to feel better. As I grew up I realized that indeed drugs make your immune system weaker. Over the course of the summer I asked several individuals on medication to give me some of the changes they observed whilst being on drugs. The idea was to spot irregularities from their normal routines. Now the particular people that I asked where suffering against infectious diseases. It could be any disease, but what I was looking at was the type of medication they would be using. I was investigating 3 particular drugs; aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen. The human body has its specific defenses against infectious diseases and sometimes drugs are not necessary. A particular one I want to talk about is antibody production by lymphocytes in response to particular pathogens that give a specific immunity. Ifa microorganism gets past the physical barrier of the skin and invades the body proteins and other molecules on the surface of pathogens are recognized as irregularities by the body and they stimulate a specific immune response is referred to as an antigen. The specific immune response is referred to as an antigen. The antibodies bind to an antigen on that pathogen. Antibodies are produced by types of white blood cells named lymphocytes. Each,lymphocyte produces just one type of antibody, but our bodies can produce various different antibodies. Antibodies only survive in the body for a few weeks or months and the plasma cells that produce them are also gradually lost after the infection has been overcome and the antigens associated with it are no longer present, But some of the lymphocytes produces during an infection are not plasma cells but rather become memory cells. Excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters that stimulate nerve impulses in the synaptic neurons. Nerve impulses are instigated or inhibited in the post synaptic neurons as result of summation of all excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters received from pre-synaptic neurons. Psychoactive drugs affect the brain by either increasing or decreasing post synaptic transmission. The brain has many synapses; these synapses vary in their organization and use a wide variety of neurotransmitters. Over a hundred different brain neurotransmitters are known to us currently. Psychoactive drugs affect the brain and personality by altering the functioning of some of these synapses. Drugs are cither excitatory because they increase the post-synaptic transmission or inhibitory because they decrease it. Examples of excitatory drugs are nicotine in cigarettes. Cocaine isolated from the Peruvian plant erythroxylon coca, examples of inhibitory drugs are valium, Alcohol and cannabis. Anesthetics act by interfering with neural transmission amid areas of sensory perception and the central nervous system Anesthetics cause a reversible loss of sensation in part or all of the body to become numb, for example the gums and teeth during a dental procedure, General anesthetics cause unconsciousness and therefore a total lack of sensation. Anesthetics are chemically varied and work in a variety of ways. Many of them affect more than just the sense organ, they can also inhibit signals to motor neurons and other parts of the nervous system so they should only ever be administered by highly trained practitioners. Now the true question is how do these drugs stop us from feeling pain right, I've broken it down like thi:First, we need to create a difference among the two primary types of painkillers, that are used for various situations and functions via different mechanisms. The first class is the narcotic opioid drugs. These are the hardcore drugs, like morphine and codeine, used to treat severe pain, They relieve pain in two ways: first by interfering with and blocking the transmission of pain signals to the brain and to alter the sensation of pain in the brain. These drugs neither find nor kill pain, but reduce and alter the user's perception of the pain. What they do is simply divert the sufferer’s attention elsewhere and thus does not focus on the pain anymore ‘The other class is the aspirin drugs, like paracetamol and ibuprofen. These are the over the counter drugs we reach for whenever we've gota headache or a sore back. The way they work is like this. The enzyme that processes the arachidonic acid, is the antecedent to the prostaglandin product, its named cyclooxygenase. There are two formulas of cyclooxygenase. The first is cyclooxygenase 1, which makes prostaglandins. This happens in a typical biological state. The second is cyclooxygenase 2, which resolves pain and inflammation in reaction to damaged tissue. Aspirin inhibits both cyclooxygenases. While COX-2 is the medical target of aspirin, it is aspirin's contact with COX-1 within the gastrointestinal tract that creates the drug's undesirable side effects, Cyclooxygenase 1 is required to maintain a compact stomach lining. Because aspirin incapacitates, cyclooxygenase 1, the routine or systematic use of this drug can lead to a diminishing lining of the mucus that defends the stomach from gastric juices, Therefore, aspirin has equally good and bad effects. Itis very effective in alleviating pain through inhibition of the Cyclooxygenase 2 route, However, when used for long intervals and in high dosage, aspirin can create significant medical complications by stopping the action of cyclooxygenase 1 enzyme. At the molecular level, aspirin obstructs the cyclooxygenase action by creating a bond within the enzyme, This effectively blocks the active site of cyclooxygenase and prevents the synthesis of prostaglandins, The medical target of aspirin, is made of two similar macromolecules that stops the synthesis of prostaglandins and essentially pain, From theresults of my experiment I was able to deduce that painkillers have minor physical side effects the patients have diarrhea, nausea, indigestion and dizziness. The behavioral changes noticed where that a few became too dependent on these drugs and taking them quite often afterwards Addiction is also one of the consequences of using drugs. All painkillers carry risks even OTC's butit's the narcotic painkillers that carry the highest risk of addiction, Though these drugs do poses some aspects of side effects we cannot simply disregard how effective these drugs are, The drugs I have chosen Are non-narcotic pain medications, they come in two forms either non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or COX-2 Inhibitors. igure 1 Aspirin action on pi if baa = 8 inflammation Uncoupling of oxidative genaceae Phospharglation in mieschsnenia