News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:The Horrifying Epidemic of Teen-Age Fentanyl Deaths in a ... by bowsamic on Thursday March 30, 2023 @01:48AM (#35368577)
Coffee and tobacco are not neurotoxic
Re:The Horrifying Epidemic of Teen-Age Fentanyl Deaths in a ... by b800h on Thursday March 30, 2023 @02:19AM (#35368776)
Sorry, that's wrong, at least as far as caffeine is concerned, and certainly as far as adverse behavioural effects ("behavioural toxicity") are concerned in humans.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S131901642...

Re:The Horrifying Epidemic of Teen-Age Fentanyl Deaths in a ... by bowsamic on Thursday March 30, 2023 @03:11AM (#35369155)
Oh, interesting, thanks. I'm not sure why you're downvoted. What about nicotine?
Re:The Horrifying Epidemic of Teen-Age Fentanyl Deaths in a ... by b800h on Thursday March 30, 2023 @04:58AM (#35369886)
No idea on that front. The caffeine one struck a chord because I'm a slow metaboliser, and it can cause me issues with anxiety under the wrong circumstances. It does make me wonder how many cases of anxiety are at least exacerbated by genetic issues with processing caffeine and other stimulants.
Re:The Horrifying Epidemic of Teen-Age Fentanyl Deaths in a ... by lll-o-lll on Thursday March 30, 2023 @04:14AM (#35369573)
Curse you science! Still, this is just in rats. Rats with their weak rat brains. My superior human brain can easily absorb this caffeine with no ill effects!
Re:The Horrifying Epidemic of Teen-Age Fentanyl Deaths in a ... by prottog on Thursday March 30, 2023 @09:56AM (#35372766)
That Kang et al. study was 50mg/kg of caffeine administered three times a day. That would be about a hundred cups a day of coffee for my body weight. Don't they say the dose makes the poison?
Re:The Horrifying Epidemic of Teen-Age Fentanyl Deaths in a ... by tsol on Thursday March 30, 2023 @03:09AM (#35369138)
Opiates are not neurotoxic.
Re:The Horrifying Epidemic of Teen-Age Fentanyl Deaths in a ... by bowsamic on Thursday March 30, 2023 @03:10AM (#35369149)
Re:The Horrifying Epidemic of Teen-Age Fentanyl Deaths in a ... by refurb on Thursday March 30, 2023 @04:43AM (#35369782)
Neurotoxic in the sense of having adverse events of a neurological nature.

Neurotoxic does not mean “your neurons are damaged”, at least not how those articles define it.

Re:The Horrifying Epidemic of Teen-Age Fentanyl Deaths in a ... by bowsamic on Thursday March 30, 2023 @05:22AM (#35370067)
So there are two totally different definitions of neurotoxic used in the medical field?
Re:The Horrifying Epidemic of Teen-Age Fentanyl Deaths in a ... by refurb on Thursday March 30, 2023 @05:41AM (#35370183)
No, the scientific field uses it differently than the layman.

Neurotoxic to a scientist means “can have negative impact to brain function, whether temporary or permanent”.

The layman thinks neurotoxic means “kills your brain cells”.

Re:The Horrifying Epidemic of Teen-Age Fentanyl Deaths in a ... by bowsamic on Thursday March 30, 2023 @06:26AM (#35370526)
What makes you think any of us were using the lay definition?
Re:The Horrifying Epidemic of Teen-Age Fentanyl Deaths in a ... by refurb on Thursday March 30, 2023 @08:22AM (#35371517)
Because if someone said “opioids are neurotoxic” from a scientific definition, it’s stating the obvious.
Re:The Horrifying Epidemic of Teen-Age Fentanyl Deaths in a ... by eurasiantiger on Friday March 31, 2023 @06:29PM (#35394603)
Both definitions are correct.

From Wikipedia:

> Neurotoxicity is a form of toxicity in which a biological, chemical, or physical agent produces an adverse effect on the structure or function of the central and/or peripheral nervous system. It occurs when exposure to a substance – specifically, a neurotoxin or neurotoxicant– alters the normal activity of the nervous system in such a way as to cause permanent or reversible damage to nervous tissue.

Brain cells getting killed is a normal process, you could call it pruning. Cells grow back, you know!

Re:The Horrifying Epidemic of Teen-Age Fentanyl Deaths in a ... by eurasiantiger on Friday March 31, 2023 @06:25PM (#35394567)
Both contain practically the entire family of beta-carbolines, which includes several neurotoxic alkaloids.