The University of Texas Medical School is researching medications that may help restore a brain's chemical balance and aid in cocaine addiction recovery. The team is currently studying medications that affect serotonin and dopamine systems.

"'With chronic cocaine use, there are changes in the brain that affect neurotransmitters that are responsible for impulsivity and decision making,' said F. Gerard Moeller, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the medical school. 'If we can restore the balance of the neurotransmitters back to the way it was before the cocaine, then other therapies such as behavioral therapy will work better.'"

In 2006, the NIDA estimated that six million Americans ages 12 and up had abused cocaine. Currently, there are no proven or approved medications for the treatment of cocaine addiction. Source: Medical News Today

Excel Academy is a sober high school and boarding school in Texas that offers an alternative to military boarding school.

Labels: brain_chemistry, cocaine, recovery

Information gathered from Florida's 24 state medical examiners reveals a disturbing trend - cocaine-related deaths have been steadily rising in the past several years. Law enforcement officials, substance abuse specialists, and others agree that the drug is gaining popularity among a new generation that's unaware of the drug's dangers.

"What's attracting new users? Low prices, for one. Between 2001 and 2006, the price of a gram of cocaine averaged about 30% less than it was in 2000... In the minds of many, powder cocaine simply doesn't carry the same stigma as crack cocaine, and some mistakenly believe it is somehow safer."

Some experts agree that the true impact of cocaine use in this generation may not be fully realized for years. Deaths from overdoses are just one result of cocaine use. Those who use but don't overdose may be faced with serious health problems - like strokes and brain bleeds - when they're in their 40s and 50s. Source: Florida Trend

Labels: cocaine, crack, rise_in_use

The American Heart Association has recommended that young patients who come in with heart attack-like symptoms - but don't have heart disease risk factors - should be screened for cocaine use.

"The drug can cause chest pains, shortness of breath, anxiety, palpitations, dizziness, nausea and heavy sweating - all symptoms of a heart attack. 'Not knowing what you are dealing with and giving the wrong therapies could mean death rather than benefit,' said Dr. James Reiffel, professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University Medical Center/New York Presbyterian Hospital."

Although the drug causes heart attack-like symptoms, it rarely causes actual heart attacks. The AHA statement goes on to say that young people with cocaine-associated chest pain should be monitored so they're not given potentially life-threatening medications. Source: San Mateo Daily Journal

Labels: cocaine, heart_attack, hospitals

Warning to emergency room doctors: Cocaine reactions look like heart attacks. If you treat a cocaine patient like a heart attack victim, you could kill him.

The American Medical Association reports that cocaine reactions cause the same symptoms as heart attacks: chest pain, shortness of breath, anxiety, palpitations, dizziness, nausea, and heavy sweating. However, if a doctor uses clot-busting drugs or beta-blockers, which are typically used to treat heart attacks, he could cause a lethal reaction in a cocaine user.

"Not knowing what you are dealing with and giving the wrong therapies could mean death rather a benefit," said Dr. James Reiffel, professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University Medical Center in New York.

Almost 200,000 people, many of them under 25 years old, go to ERs every year because of cocaine reactions. The number of cocaine-related ER visits rose 47 percent between 1995 and 2002.

Labels: cocaine, death, hospitals

A 19-year-old writes in to an advice column asking what to do about her boyfriend. He treats her well and is a good guy. He has just one "small flaw": He's a recreational cocaine user.

"...ask - demand - that Derek stop using cocaine. I hope he will, but I fear, despite his assurances to the contrary, that he's already hooked and unable to quit on his own... Insist that he do what's necessary to get off this substance and don't stay with him if he gives you excuses instead of immediate action."

Dr. Wallace also reminds her that cocaine is highly addictive and most who try to quit are unable. Read more at HollandSentinel.com.

Labels: addiction, cocaine, treatment

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc announced today that it has begun a clinical trial for a drug called CPP-109, intended for use in the treatment of cocaine addiction. CPP-109 is an oral treatment that inhibits dopamine release that's typically caused by drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine.

"The Phase II clinical trial is expected to enroll 180 cocaine dependent patients at 10 leading addiction treatment clinical centers in the United States. Patients will be treated for a period of 12 weeks, with an additional 12 week follow-up."

Catalyst will begin enrolling patients in the trial once it gets approval from the Institutional Review Board. It expects to release first results of the trial in the summer of 2008. Read more at News-Medical.net.

Labels: addiction, cocaine, treatment

Drug-abuse experts call it "generational amnesia", and they say it explains why cocaine use is increasing among adolescents. Generational amnesia happens when sufficient time has passed and a new generation is no longer aware of the dangers of a particular drug. It's one of the main reasons for the cyclical increase and decrease in popularity of certain drugs.

"The visibility of cultural markers - and the absence of cautionary tales - leads to the assumption that coke is not as harmful, say, as heroin (which was associated with the high-profile overdoses of River Phoenix and Curt Cobain in the 1990s), or methamphetamine, whose recent popularity in the gay community has led to a targeted campaign against it, said Perry N. Halkitis, a professor of applied psychology at New York University who studies behavior, the AIDS epidemic and drug abuse."

By and large, cocaine is thought to be safe, which means that more teens are likely to try it. It's also considered "fashionable" in the entertainment and finance industries, which drives its popularity. The annual survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found a 20 percent increase in past-month use between 2004 and 2005, meaning that 20 percent more people admitted to using cocaine within the last 30 days. Read more at TheLedger.com.

The Teen-Help-Directory offers resources for parents on teen substance abuse and drug addiction, including articles about the warning signs and what treatment options exist. Learn about teen drug and alcohol use and prevention tactics to keep your adolescent on the right path.

Labels: cocaine, rise_in_use, teenagers

A study in South Africa may not appear relevant to those living in the United States. But some of the findings may raise red flags for officials in America.

"[South Africa's Medical Research Council] MRC discovered that the relationship between mental health and tik [methamphetamine] use also indicate societal reasons for tik's popularity in the Western Cape. 'Our initial findings seem to indicate that tik use in the Western Cape is most high where gangsterism is most engrained in the society... The communities tend to have a depressed mood and some use tik to alleviate it,' said senior MRC scientist Andreas Pluddemann."

A recently discovered mixture called 'sugars' has officials concerned as well. 'Sugars' is a highly addictive mixture of cocaine and heroin. The purity is often very low and may be mixed with rat poison to help the mixture pass into the bloodstream. Read more online.

Labels: cocaine, heroin, mental_health

A recent study conducted by the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center has found that cocaine and amphetamine users are at an increased risk for strokes.

"Stimulants such as cocaine raise blood pressure and trigger spasms in blood vessels, causing vessel narrowing, according to the study. Amphetamine abuse is linked to a higher risk of death in hemorrhagic strokes..."

Cocaine and methamphetamine are the second- and fifth-most abused drugs in the nation, and methamphetamine use has been increasing recently in southwestern and Midwestern states. Read more online.

Labels: cocaine, death, stimulants