Lortab is a brand name medication engineered to contain active ingredients hydrocodone bitartrate (a synthetic opioid) and acetaminophen (a non-opioid analgesic). The drug is typically prescribed for the treatment of moderate to severe acute, chronic, or postoperative pain. The hydrocodone component of Lortab functions via binding to opioid receptors in the central nervous system, principally …
Spice and “K2” refer to various retail products containing herbs laced with synthetic cannabinoids. The synthetic cannabinoids within Spice and K2 are often considered functionally similar to THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannbinol) derived from cannabis in that they bind to cannabinoid receptors within the brain, and act as agonists. This cannabinoid receptor agonism facilitates intoxicating effects similar to …
Flexeril (Cyclobenzaprine) is a drug approved by the FDA as a short-term adjunct treatment for skeletal muscle spasms along with physical therapy and rest. Although its mechanism of action isn’t fully elucidated, it is thought to act within the central nervous system, principally at the brain stem. Within the brain stem, it is believed to …
Ketamine is a drug initially synthesized in the 1960s to be used as an anesthetic. It was approved by the FDA in 1970 and was utilized medically as anesthesia for soldiers during the Vietnam war. At the time, ketamine was considered a superior option to PCP (phencyclidine) due to its short duration of effect and …
Benadryl is a brand name for a variety of over-the-counter (OTC) medications containing the chemical diphenhydramine, an antihistamine. The drug was initially synthesized in 1943, was acquired by Pfizer in 1946, and became the first antihistamine to receive FDA approval in the United States. The brand “Benadryl” was acquired by Johnson & Johnson (from Pfizer) …
Chantix (Varenicline) is a drug marketed by Pfizer for the treatment of nicotine addiction. It functions as a selective, competitive partial agonist at α4β2 (alpha-4-beta-2) nAChRs. Competitive partial agonism at the α4β2 receptors decreases the binding of nicotine to these receptors, thereby modulating the release of dopamine in the mesolimbic pathway as triggered by nicotine …
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid drug that was originally synthesized in the early 1960s by Paul Janssen, founder of Janssen Pharmaceutica. The drug initially gained mainstream popularity as a general anesthetic in the 1960s under the brand “Sublimaze”, a compound consisting of fentanyl and citric acid. It wasn’t until the 1990s that fentanyl was approved …