Diamorphine Case Study

Diamorphine is an opioid produced over one hundred years ago by the acetylation of morphine. Diamorphine is twice as potent when compared to morphine, because it is a more lipophilic molecule, containing a partition coefficient of 280 (Suresh, 2013). The lipophilicity of diamorphine allows it to rapidly distribute across the blood-brain barrier, producing effects within seconds. Morphine cannot penetrate the blood brain barrier at that rate, because it contains two hydroxyl groupings within its structure, causing it to be lyophobic. When diamorphine reaches the central nervous system it immediately stimulates the brain by binding to opioid receptors, which produce pleasurable effects and provides pain relief by impairing the action of the central
The body will quickly start to develop a tolerance to the drug and will be able to handle a larger dose. When an individual increases the dose administered it increases their susceptibility to an overdose (Zang, 2015). Long-term users bodies start to depend on diamorphine. When they stop taking the opioid after consistent use extreme withdrawal symptoms occur and tortures the body. Addiction is the principal withdrawal symptom and causes diamorphine users feel irresistible cravings for the drug.
The American Society of Addiction Medicine states that in 2014, the leading cause of accidental death within the United States was due to drug overdoses. Due to the rise in drug overdoses, many research facilities are conducting clinical trails that involve recreational diamorphine users and probable antidotes for overdoses. The importance for examining diamorphine within the biological system is to study how to suppress diamorphine addictions, prevent overdoses, and to study other drugs that block opioid receptors from producing withdrawals and
The deactivation of GABA allows an uncontrolled production of dopamine from the nerve terminal. Dopamine and its receptors reside in the ventral tegmental area of the brain. The accumulation of dopamine binding to the dopamine receptors produces immediate effects of reward and pleasure (Katzung, 2001). The reward pathway has a large effect on addictions occurring, because it causes continuous stimulation of nerve cells, leading to intense euphoric