A 27-year-old patient with a history of substance abuse is found unresponsive by emergency medical services (EMS) after being called by the patient’s roommate.

Pathophysiology for NP

Role of Genetics in the DiseaseStudies have found that genes play a huge role in determining whether one is going to be addicted to alcohol, nicotine, and other hard drugs. For instance, a study by Abbasian, Lockington, Megharaj, and Naidu (2016) showed that children whose parents were addicts are eight times more likely to be addicted to any of the hard drugs.

Reasons for Presenting the Symptoms

The patient became unresponsive because he may have used opioid substances in large quantity. This is evident because he became responsive after receiving naloxone. Zhang (2019) reports that naloxone is the drug used to lower the effects of an opioid in people who have consumed the substance in a large amount. The burning pain is the side effect of the opioid taken in large amounts.

Physiologic ResponseThe stimulus in this scenario is the naloxone. This drug has caused physiological response, and as a result, the patient was brought back to a responsive state. This response occurred when the drug triggered the patient’s heart and made it beat faster, and this made the patient wake up.

The Cells Involved The cells involved in this process are found in the brain. These cells are found in the brain reward system. The stimuli work by increasing the sensitivity to aversion in a move to reverse the effects of the opioid on the body. Some of the cells involved in the process are D 1-type medium spiny neurons and DeltaFosB (Liu & Tang, 2020). Genetics can change the response in that people with genes that support addiction will reduce the functions of the stimuli on the body.

References

Abbasian, F., Lockington, R., Megharaj, M., & Naidu, R. (2016). A review on the genetics of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon degradation. Applied biochemistry and biotechnology, 178(2), 224-250. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12010-015-1881-y

Liu, N., & Tang, M. (2020). Toxic effects and involved molecular pathways of nanoparticles on cells and subcellular organelles. Journal of Applied Toxicology, 40(1), 16-36. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jat.3817