HYDERABAD: A blot of LSD, an MDMA tablet or a line of cocaine can damage organs including liver, kidneys and can also lead to cardiac arrests, say specialist doctors. Ace liver transplantation specialists in the country believe that the effects of drugs are not dose-dependent and even small amounts can lead to sudden failure of organs. The rate at which drug addicts damage their organs increases if they combine two or more drugs for quicker and intense high.
National head of Liver Transplantations at CARE Hospital, Prof Tom Cherian says that direct effect of narcotics is acute liver failure and if alcohol too, is consumed under influence of the drug, it can cause chronic liver diseases. But, is damage to liver dependent on the drug dose? “It is not always dose-dependent. Some times a person may suffer from acute liver failure even if they take small doses,” Prof Cherian says, adding that Liver is an organ which performs 500 functions and produces energy from what we ingest in our body. He says no machine can perform the functions of liver. Liver transplantation surgery costs anywhere between `25 to `30 lakh in private hospitals.
“When a drug is consumed, it goes from intestines into liver - the first filter in the body. Even a small amount of Cocaine can have many affects. When cocaine is taken intravenously, blood vessels develop spasms (constriction) which can lead to heart attacks and paralysis,” says Dr CH Madhusudhan, head of Surgical Gastroenterology department at Osmania General Hospital (OGH). With the initial phase of euphoria caused by the drugs gradually waning, people can also slip into death.
Professor and head of Anesthesia department at OGH, Dr Deepraj Singh says after the euphoria, people might experience respiratory or cardiac depression.