Sunday, March 18, 2007

Family Matters: In Good Times and Bad

Inspired by the This I Believe site, I’ve decided this week to reflect upon a core belief of mine that has helped to influence the focus of my blog. Family has always been an essential part of who I am, and my parents and sister are undoubtedly the most important people in my life. I lean on them for support, guidance, and advice. My mom always emphasized the meaning of family by telling my sister and I to “be good to each other and stay close because in the end, when your dad and I are gone, your sister is the only family you’ll really have.” Families share memories, successes, fears, laughter, and tears, and it is this commonality that helps families relate to each other and remain close. Family members give each other strength and support for the happy, joyful times, and of course, for the difficult struggles that inevitably occur in life.

Nine years ago my mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. It was unfortunately not caught early on, and thus considered Stage 3, which means that the cancer has spread outside the ovaries, outside the pelvis, and into the abdominal cavity. She underwent surgery and chemotherapy for about seven months. About four years later, in 2002, the cancer recurred on her diaphragm. She once again had surgery and chemotherapy for almost a year and a half. During this time, I naturally experienced overwhelming feelings of anguish, fear, helplessness, and resentment. I resented how everyone seemed to live so carefree, taking such simple things for granted, such as their health. While my friends were extremely supportive to the best of their ability, both they and I knew that, with no fault of their own, it was impossible for them to completely understand. I was envious of them and their families, even despite other marital or family issues they might have had, because they had their health, something that matters more than anything; more than money, more than fame, more than all the little things in the world. In reality, there are few things worse than not having your health.

Throughout this time I came to realize how important and necessary one’s support system can be. Having my friends and family around to care for me, make me strong, and keep me optimistic was a blessing. My family and friends are what got me through this terrible tribulation, and I know I can depend on them. They stood by me, offered support and encouragement, and prevented me from losing hope. This episode in my life has allowed me to develop an understanding of the important things in life. Through my experience, I have established a more grounded outlook on what truly matters to me, and that includes my family and our health. Both are of remarkable value to me.

I don’t think anyone will ever understand or know why some have the unfortunate task of dealing with cancer. I probably will always wonder, “why us?” But I do know that this incident has given me the opportunity to learn to enjoy every day, cherish my family and friends, take advantage of the peaceful times, and never take anything for granted. My mom is doing well, and for this I could not be more thankful. Nothing is of greater worth than the bond shared between family members and the strength and hope they can bring to the table in times of fear and distress, specifically over an illness. “When dealing with illness, you may find strengths you never thought you had. And while illness may close the doors to some parts of your life, it may open others,” states a Clinical Center patient from the Patient Information Publications of the National Institutes of Health. I believe it is not necessarily what happens to you that truly matters, because everyone faces adversity in life, but rather how you decide to confront and take control of the challenge. The quote by Jawaharlal Nehru supports my belief in stating, “Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you represents determinism; the way you play it is free will.” With my family by my side, this unpleasant event has helped to shape my beliefs and values, influence my outlook on life, and provide the strength I need to tackle and cope with new hardships that may await me in the future. This experience and the lessons I’ve learned from it have changed my thinking about family, health, and life in general, teaching me first-hand the value of each. It may or may not have sparked my interest in a health career specifically, but it certainly got me thinking about health overall. “Mind and Body,” the title of my blog, suggests the importance of both mental health, which may even include the optimism needed in times of distress, as well as physical health. Having a family member’s health so severely jeopardized and vulnerable has enabled me to find interest in this relevant and significant topic. I look forward to continuing my studies in health, as I have become quite invested in this field.

Sunday, March 4, 2007

Drug Abuse: Are Brains Predisposed to the Problem?

According to BBC News, government figures estimate that in Britain “up to 500,000 people are currently addicted to Class A drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and amphetamines.” In addition, drug abuse is prominent with reported use at about 53% for adolescents in 12th grade, according to the 2003 Teen Drug Abuse statistics, which also states that as many as 30% of youths 14 years old were misusing drugs. An important question regarding addiction has always surrounded the origin of brain differences observed in drug users, displayed to the left, and whether they resulted from their individual brain makeup or from previous drug use. These differences are physical in nature, one of which includes a scarcity of dopamine receptors in one area of the brain. The findings from one study provide great insight while indicating the possible answer. This study conducted by Dr. Jeff Dalley of the University of Cambridge and published March 2 in the journal Science claims that some individuals may be predisposed to the effects of cocaine on the brain, making them more likely to try the drug and become addicted. It is widely recognized that drug addiction is associated with risk taking, sensation seeking, and impulsivity, according to Miranda Hitti of WebMD Medical News, and Dalley's experiment sought to determine the role of dopamine on impulsivity and drug addiction.

Dr. Dalley examined rats without any previous exposure to drugs, and tested them on impulsivity. The rats were confined in a cage as a light was randomly and briefly illuminated in different spots throughout the cage. While the rats that ran towards the light were rewarded with food, those who “impulsively” ran to the wrong spot were not rewarded with food. These impulsive rats demonstrated two interesting findings. They were not only more likely to continuously and obsessively self-administrate cocaine through an IV tube than the less impulsive rats, but they also were more likely to possess fewer dopamine receptors, pictured to the right, prior to cocaine exposure than the less impulsive rats. This was detected by a PET scan. Interestingly, human addicts also have a scarcity of dopamine receptors in the same area of the brain, the nucleus accumbens, which is involved with motivation and behavior. According to an article from Medline Plus, Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse believes it is well-known that low levels of dopamine receptors in the nucleus accumbens, shown below, are linked to addiction, thus encouraging the use of drugs.

This is a very significant discovery because it suggests that an individual’s natural brain chemistry is setting him or her up for drug abuse, and it is not just the addictive drug itself. Knowing that a shortage of dopamine receptors appears before drug exposure provides additional knowledge on the causes of addictions, and what can potentially be done to combat them. While this is promising, it is still necessary to be skeptical that brain configuration is the only factor driving drug abuse. Although impulsivity seems to be playing a large role in compulsive drug disorders, it seems only reasonable that a multidisciplinary aproach be essential to an intervention since a variety of factors for substance abuse must be taken into account. Clearly it is more complicated than just reducing impulsivity and risk-taking behaviors. In the BBC article, Martin Barnes of DrugScope plainly agrees that “[t]he reasons why any particular individual may start using drugs and become a problem drug user are far more complex than just genetic make-up.” While it should not be disregarded that this genetic trait may produce vulnerability to addiction problems, ultimately, there are many reasons why one may initiate drug use. Therefore it is imperative to keep an open mind regarding the causes of addictions and what can be done to prevent and treat them. In doing so, valuable therapeutic strategies will not be overlooked so that with additional time and research, an effective treatment procedure will hopefully reveal its success.