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Biomedical subjects

D R Wesson

Publications and source records attributed to D R Wesson.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1990

Drugs of abuse--opiates.

Treating opiate-dependent patients can be difficult for many physicians because the patients' life-styles, values, and beliefs differ from those of the physicians. Primary care physicians, however, are often involved in the treatment of the medical complications of opiate abuse, and physicians must often manage a patient's opiate dependence until appropriate referral to a drug abuse treatment program can be arranged. Treatment is guided by an understanding of the patient's addictive disease, for which there are specific diagnostic criteria, and an understanding of the pharmacology of opiates of abuse and the medications used in treating opiate dependence. The opiate agonist, methadone, is useful for both detoxification and maintenance. The opiate antagonist, naloxone, is the treatment of choice for opiate overdose, and naltrexone, also an opiate antagonist, is a useful adjunct in subgroups of opiate-dependent patients for preventing relapse. New medications for the treatment of opiate dependence are being developed.

Central Nervous System↗
PubMed1990

Expert systems in treating substance abuse.

Computer programs can assist humans in solving complex problems that cannot be solved by traditional computational techniques using mathematic formulas. These programs, or "expert systems," are commonly used in finance, engineering, and computer design. Although not routinely used in medicine at present, medical expert systems have been developed to assist physicians in solving many kinds of medical problems that traditionally require consultation from a physician specialist. No expert systems are available specifically for drug abuse treatment, but at least one is under development. Where access to a physician specialist in substance abuse is not available for consultation, this expert system will extend specialized substance abuse treatment expertise to nonspecialists. Medical expert systems are a developing technologic tool that can assist physicians in practicing better medicine.

Decision Support Techniques↗
PubMed1990

Prescription drug abuse. Patient, physician, and cultural responsibilities.

The abuse of prescription drugs is one facet of America's drug problem that is particularly complex because access to prescription drugs must be maintained for some purposes and contained for others. The American Medical Association has sponsored two national conferences to grapple with the confluence of the medical access to prescription drugs and a national drug abuse control policy. One result has been a classification of misprescribing physicians that blames physicians for prescription drug abuse. The conceptualization and public policy response to prescription drug abuse have been largely shaped by the emotional response to the epidemic of crack cocaine and other nonprescription drug abuse. A new perspective is needed--one that accommodates the evolving role of physicians in society, the life-style choices that physicians enable in their patients, and the respective responsibilities of both physicians and patients in physician-patient transactions.

Crime↗
PubMed1986

Propylhexdrine.

Propylhexedrine, a sympathomimetic with varied medicinal uses, is one of the compounds to be reviewed by the Expert Committee convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) to determine whether the compound should be scheduled under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances. This paper reviews the pharmacology, medicinal uses, toxicity and abuse-potential of propylhexedrine, with special emphasis on toxicity and abuse potential. The primary medicinal use of propylhexedrine is temporary symptomatic relief of nasal decongestion due to colds, allergies and allergic rhinitis. When used as a nasal inhaler for this indication, propylhexedrine reduces nasal airway resistance without producing rebound congestion. Abuse does not occur by nasal inhalation; however, a small amount of abuse of the propylhexedrine containing nasal inhalers occurs by oral ingestion of the contents of the inhaler or by intravenous injection. Propylhexedrine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of low abuse potential, a stimulant of low preference for stimulant abusers compared with amphetamine, methylphenidate, phenmetrazine.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

An analysis of psychedelic drug flashbacks.

Psychedelic drug flashbacks have been a puzzling clinical phenomenon observed by clinicians. Flashbacks are defined as transient, spontaneous recurrences of the psychedelic drug effect appearing after a period of normalcy following an intoxication of psychedelics. The paper traces the evolution of the concept of flashback and gives examples of the varieties encountered. Although many drugs have been advocated for the treatment of flashback, flashbacks generally decrease in intensity and frequency with abstinence from psychedelic drugs.

Adolescent↗