Treatment Online

Some Cocaine-Induced Brain Damage Reversible
> 7/27/2007 11:18:09 AM

Remember the vivid anti-drug add that explained �This is your brain; this is your brain on drugs" with a demonstration of a pristine egg being cracked and thrown on a frying pan? Well, it is possible that doctors may be able to unscramble those eggs. Previous research has shown that cocaine interferes with the healthy functioning of dopamine receptors, and autopsies reveal that the molecular mechanisms for handling dopamine are severely degraded in drug addicts. This could help explain the difficulty addicts have quitting. Repeated use acts to modify the brain's reward structure: moderate moods rise to elation at first, but later, as the base level falls lower and lower, the drug can only bring the mood up to what used to be the normal state. Prolonged cocaine use leaves users with great difficulty experiencing joy through normal stimulation.

A new study led by Dr. Christian Luscher gives some hope that chemical brain damage can be reversed. Luscher found that glutamate receptors in the ventral tegmental area were over-stimulated and malfunctioning in cocaine addicts. Rats experience a similar malfunctioning, so Luscher experimented with replacing damaged glutamate receptors with new ones delivered by RNA translation in rat brains. Stimulation of healthy receptors allowed this replacement to occur. This process successfully turned back the clock to normal dopamine functioning. In a phone interview with Reuters, Luscher said:

"This is the piece of the puzzle that was not known before -- the mechanism a cell uses to get back to normal."

If receptor replacement proves applicable to humans, this technique will be a great boon to addiction treatment. Addicts should not take this news as a carte blanche to mistreat their brains, but those who are earnestly trying to quit can take heart that they may be able to make a full recovery. This should be happy news for many addicts: repaired receptors means a higher capacity for happiness.

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