While starting doses may be adjusted based on the amount of opioids reportedly used, most clinical guidelines suggest doses start low (e.g. at doses not exceeding 40 mg daily) and are incremented gradually. It has been found that doses of 40 mg per day were sufficient to help control the withdrawal symptoms but not enough to curb the cravings for the drug. Doses of 80 to 100 mg per day have shown higher rates of success in patients and less illicit heroin use during the maintenance therapy. However, higher doses do put a patient more at risk for overdose than a moderately low dose (e.g. 20 mg/day). Methadone maintenance has been shown to reduce the transmission of bloodborne viruses associated with opioid injection, such as hepatitis B and C, and/or HIV. The principal goals of methadone maintenance are to relieve opioid cravings, suppress the abstinence syndrome, and block the euphoric effects associated with opioids. Chronic methadone dosing will eventually lead to neuroadaptation, characterised by a syndrome of tolerance and withdrawal (dependence). However, when used correctly in treatment, maintenance therapy has been found to be medically safe, non-sedating, and can provide a slow recovery from opioid addiction. Methadone has been widely used for pregnant women addicted to opioids. Pain
Methadone is used as an analgesic in chronic pain, often in rotation with other opioids. Due to its activity at the NMDA receptor, it may be more effective against neuropathic pain; for the same reason, tolerance to the analgesic effects may be less than that of other opioids.
Teratomas contain many cell types such as skin, nerve, brain and thyroid, among others, because they are derived from germ cells. Hamartomas are a group of benign tumors that have relatively normal cellular differentiation but exhibit disorganized tissue organization.Exceptions to the nomenclature rules exist for historical reasons; malignant examples include melanoma (a cancer of pigmented skin cells, or melanocytes) and seminoma (a cancer of male reproductive cells).Benign tumors do not encompass all benign growths. Skin tags, vocal chord polyps, and hyperplastic polyps of the colon are often referred to as benign, but they are overgrowths of normal tissue rather than neoplasms. Treatment
Benign tumors typically need no treatment unless if they cause problems such as seizures, discomfort or cosmetic concerns. Surgery is usually the most effective approach and is used to treat most benign tumors. In some cases, other treatments may be used. Adenomas of the rectum may be treated with sclerotherapy, in which chemicals are used to shrink blood vessels in order to cut off the blood supply. Most benign tumors do not respond to chemotherapy or radiation therapy, although there are exceptions; benign intercranial tumors are sometimes treated with radiation therapy and chemotherapy under certain circumstances. Radiation can also be used to treat hemangiomas in the rectum. Benign skin tumors are usually surgically resected but other treatments such as cryotherapy, curettage, electrodesiccation, laser therapy, dermabrasion, chemical peels and topical medication are used. Name
The word "benign" means "favourable, kind, fortunate, salutary, propitious".