The Line between Addiction and Medication: Alcohol, Anesthesia, and Analgesia

Authors

Priya Joshi, B.S., Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology, Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PAFollow
Emanual Rubin, MD, Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology, Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PAFollow

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

4-26-2013

Abstract

Alcohol is a particularly dangerous addiction because its consumption is legal even in excess, despite its harmful effects. Because alcohol has a multitude of targets in the central nervous system that are modified during chronic exposure, medications with overlapping targets such as anesthetics and analgesics must be modified when given to alcoholics. Unfortunately, as relatively little is known about the mechanism of addiction, it is difficult to predict how medications will be affected by central adaptation to chronic alcohol exposure. This review summarizes the consequences of alcohol exposure with particular attention to the GABA_Areceptor, and discusses the reasons behind necessary adjustments to the doses of volatile anesthetics and analgesics for alcoholics.

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