Stimulant drugs caffeine

False. Tea, coffee and cola all contain caffeine, a mild stimulant drug. In small quantities it provides a refreshing increase in energy levels in larger quantities it can lead to headaches, anxiety, agitation, tremors and insomnia. In extreme cases it has been known to cause death. 

Rush, C., Sullivan, J. and Griffiths, R., Intravenous caffeine in stimulant drug abusers Subjective reports and physiological effects. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 273(1), 351-358, 1995. 

The above factors make caffeine the most widely consumed stimulant drug in the world. The stimulant and other basic biological properties of caffeine make it an almost ideal drug for many large corporations and small businesses to make large amounts of money. 

Caffeine is the most widely consumed stimulant drug in the world. It occurs naturally in coffee, tea, and the cola nut and is added to many soft drinks. Many of us consume coffee and soft drinks because of the desirable stimulatory effects produced by caffeine many of us have consumed too much caffeine and felt the consequences. The undesirable effects of caffeine, the agitation, the inability to concentrate, the mild tremors, and the general unpleasantness, are a form of neurotoxicity. Literally your brain, and more specifically, the adenosine receptors in your brain, has too much caffeine. These effects are a reversible form of neurotoxicity. Fortunately, we metabolize caffeine quickly and the undesirable effects end. By experience we have learned how to moderate our caffeine consumption to avoid the unpleasant side effects. A great deal of money is made from the neuroactive and physiological effects of caffeine. You can learn more about this fascinating drug in the chapter on caffeine. 

Table 15.2 provides just a few examples of different neuroactive agents and their mechanism of action. Caffeine, the most widely consumed stimulant drug in the world, works by affecting the adenosine receptor. Adenosine is a naturally occurring depressant, so caffeine works by blocking the depressive actions of adenosine, causing stimulation. 

Most drugs are administered to infants and children for the same therapeutic indications as for adults. However, a few drugs have found unique uses in children. Among these are theophylline and caffeine, which are used to treat apnea of prematurity indomethacin, which closes a patent ductus arteriosus and prostaglandin Ej, which maintains the patency of the ductus arteriosus. Paradoxically, drugs such as phenobarbital, which have a sedating action on adults, may produce hyperactivity in children, and some adult stimulant drugs, such as methyl-phenidate, are used to treat children with hyperactivity. 

Stimulant drugs commonly abused in the USA include methamphetamine ("crank," "crystal"), methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, "ecstasy"), and cocaine ("crack") as well as pharmaceuticals such as pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) and ephedrine (as such and in the herbal agent Ma-huang) (see Chapter 32). Caffeine is often added to dietary supplements sold as "metabolic enhancers" or "fat-burners" and is also sometimes combined with pseudoephedrine in underground pills sold as amphetamine substitutes. 

One of the most famous sources of caffeine is chocolate, also made from the seeds of a tropical tree. Chocolate, which contains a lot of fat and is very bitter, must be mixed with sugar to make it palatable. It, too, contains a stimulating drug, and cases of chocolate dependence are easy to find. You probably know a few "chocoholics." People who regularly consume chocolate or go on chocolate-eating binges may not realize they are involved with a drug, but their consumption usually follows the same sort of pattern as with coffee, tea, and cola drinks. 

Stimulants Drugs that increase the activity of the nervous system, causing wakefulness. Caffeine, cocaine, and amphetamines are examples. 

In this cliaptcr and in C hapter 8 we review two more stimulant drugs nicotine and caffeine. We cover these two drugs apart from other stimulant drugs because nicotine and caffeine arc used so prominently in societies around the world. Use of other stimulant drugs lias a small fraction of the prevalence that use of nicotine or caffeine docs. 

Caffeine s pharmacologic actions are similar to those of other stimulant drugs. As such, abstinence from caffeine induces a distinct withdrawal syndrome that includes headache, drowsiness, and fatigue. 

No-Doz, most aspirin, and coffee all have one thing in common, they all contain caffeine, the cheapest and most common stimulant drug known to man. In general, taking a lot of caffeine products will keep you awake, but at the risk of messing up your stomach and making your eyelids feel as if they were propped open with toothpicks. Yucchhhh ... 

The drug produces CNS stimulation and skeletal muscles but to a much lesser extent as compared to caffeine however, it exhibits a greater effect on the coronary dilatation, smooth muscle relaxation, diuresis and cardiac stimulation than caffeine. 

Besides coffee and cola drinks, other sources of caffeine are tea, chocolate, and cocoa. Caffeine is a mild stimulant of the respiratory and central nervous systems, the reason for its well-known side effects of nervousness and insomnia. These characteristics, together with its behavior as a mild diuretic, account for the use of caffeine in a wide variety of products, including pain relievers, cold remedies, diet pills, and stay-awake pills (No-Doz ). Because caffeine is considered to be a drug, pregnant women should be prudent about how much caffeine they consume. Like most other drugs, caffeine enters the bloodstream, crosses the placental barrier, and reaches the fetus. 

Stimulants are drugs that Increase the activity of the central nervous system. Examples of stimulants are caffeine, amphetamines, iricotine, and cocaine. 

Positive findings on effects of CNS stimulant drugs on learning in animals have not been limited to strychnine. Comparable reports have also appeared of learning enhancement following post-trial treatment with such analeptics as dlazadamantanol (1757 I.S. a strychnine analogue) picrotoxin ", pentylenetetrazol, and even amphetamine and caffeine S. 

Caffeine is an addictive drug used in soft drinks as a stimulant. It occurs naturally in coffee, tea, and chocolate. 

The various stimulants have no obvious chemical relationships and do not share primary neurochemical effects, despite their similar behavioral effects. Cocaines chemical strucmre does not resemble that of caffeine, nicotine, or amphetamine. Cocaine binds to the dopamine reuptake transporter in the central nervous system, effectively inhibiting dopamine reuptake. It has similar effects on the transporters that mediate norepinephrine and serotonin reuptake. As discussed later in this chapter in the section on neurochemical actions mediating stimulant reward, dopamine is very important in the reward system of the brain the increase of dopamine associated with use of cocaine probably accounts for the high dependence potential of the drug. 

Amphetamines (speed sulph, sulphate, uppers, wake-ups, billy whizz, whizz, whites, base) are synthetic stimulants which as medicines have been formed into a variety of tablets. Their current medical use is very limited and in fact only dexamphetamine sulphate, Dexedrine, is now available for use solely in the treatment of narcolepsy. The only other amphetamine available for medical use is methylphenidate (Ritalin) for the treatment of attention deficit syndrome in children. As a street drug, amphetamine usually comes as a white, grey, yellowish or pinky powder. The purity rate of street powders is less than 10%, the rest being made up of milder stimulants such as caffeine, other drugs such as paracetamol or substances like glucose, dried baby milk, flour or talcum powder. 

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