Propensity to addiction starts from the very first drug use experience, UTEP study shows
Tag: Cocaine
Central America could play troubling new role in cocaine trade
For many decades, the coca plant – the main ingredient in cocaine – has been grown almost exclusively in South America. But a new study shows that nearly half of northern Central America appears to be highly suitable for cultivating this lucrative cash crop.
A Common Pathway in the Brain That Enables Addictive Drugs to Hijack Natural Reward Processing Has Been Identified by Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai researchers, in collaboration with scientists at The Rockefeller University, have uncovered a mechanism in the brain that allows cocaine and morphine to take over natural reward processing systems.
Drug used for cocaine addiction may pave way for new treatment of advanced colon cancer
New research from the University of Ottawa proposes using vanoxerine as a safe method for potentially eliminating cancer stem cells in colorectal tumors.
Cellular Atlas of Amygdala Reveals New Treatment Target for Cocaine Addiction
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have used single-cell sequencing to identify a potential new treatment for cocaine addiction and shed new light on the molecular underpinnings of addiction.
Overdose deaths from fentanyl laced stimulants have risen 50-fold since 2010
New UCLA-led research has found that the proportion of US overdose deaths involving both fentanyl and stimulants has increased more than 50-fold since 2010, from 0.6% (235 deaths) in 2010 to 32.3% (34,429 deaths) in 2021. This rise in constitutes the ‘fourth wave’ in the US’s long-running opioid overdose crisis
New Research Reveals Men Die of Overdose at Two-to-Three Times Greater a Rate Than Women in the United States
Men were significantly more vulnerable than women to overdose deaths involving opioid and stimulant drugs in 2020-2021, according to a new study analyzing data from across the United States.
Cocaine damage routinely misdiagnosed as nonthreatening nasal disease
A new paper in Rheumatology Advances in Practice, published by Oxford University Press, indicates that Granulomatosis With Polyangiitis, a nasal disease that causes inflammation of the blood vessels and commonly presents with symptoms in sinuses, throat, lungs, and kidneys, may be commonly misdiagnosed.
Cocaine addiction makes the brain age faster, suggests study
A new study finds evidence from the DNA methylome that the biological age – different from the chronological age – of cells in Brodmann Area 9 of the prefrontal cortex might be greater in people with cocaine use disorder. This suggests that cocaine abuse makes these cells age faster according to the ‘epigenetic clock’. The authors also find differences in methylation in 20 genes, mainly involved in regulation of the activity of neurons and their connectivity. This post-mortem study is one of the first to directly look at the methylome of brain cells in human donors with cocaine use disorder, rather than in rodents.
UCLA researchers use artificial intelligence tools to speed critical information on drug overdose deaths
Fast data processing of overdose deaths, which have increased in recent years, is crucial to developing a rapid public health response. But the system now in place lacks precision and takes months. To correct that, UCLA researchers have developed an automated process that reduces data collection to a few weeks.
Overdose Deaths Involving Cocaine or Meth Tripled in Shadow of Opioid Crisis
Even as the opioid epidemic dominated national attention over the past decade, the rate of overdose deaths involving cocaine, methamphetamine and other stimulants tripled, a new study in veterans suggests.
EMS Ketamine Use on Agitated Patients on Cocaine Increases Intubation 5.75-fold
Patients with excited delirium often are administered ketamine by EMS before arriving at the hospital. Many of them are intoxicated or are using illicit substances, which may alter the properties of ketamine.
Novel Anti-Craving Mechanism Discovered to Treat Cocaine Relapse
Cocaine continues to be one of the most commonly abused illicit drugs in the United States. Pre-clinical literature suggests that targeting glucagon-like peptide-1 receptors (GLP-1Rs) in the brain may represent a novel approach to treating cocaine use disorder. Specifically, GLP-1R agonists, which are FDA-approved for treating diabetes and obesity, have been shown to reduce voluntary drug taking and seeking in preclinical models of cocaine used disorder. However, the exact neural circuits and cell types that mediate the suppressive effects of GLP-1R agonists on cocaine-seeking behavior are mostly unknown.
Less Addictive Form of Buprenorphine May Help Curb Cocaine Relapse
New research performed in mice suggests that chemical modifications to buprenorphine can improve its effectiveness to treat cocaine addiction while minimizing abuse potential.
Mexico’s Drug War
Violence continues to rage in Mexico more than a decade after former President Felipe Calderon launched a crackdown on drug cartels.
Of All Professions, Construction Workers Most Likely to Use Opioids and Cocaine
Construction workers are more likely to use drugs than workers in other professions, finds a study by the Center for Drug Use and HIV/HCV Research (CDUHR) at NYU College of Global Public Health.
Mapping international drug use through the world’s largest wastewater study
A seven-year project monitoring illicit drug use in 37 countries via wastewater samples shows that cocaine use was skyrocketing in Europe in 2017 and Australia had a serious problem with methamphetamine.