BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Cocaine is a cause of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), but there are no large studies that have characterized the location, pathology, and outcome of patients with cocaine-associated ICH. METHODS We performed a retrospective analysis of all patients admitted to our stroke service from 2004 to 2007 who had nontraumatic ICH and urine drug screens positive for cocaine and c...

The present study was designed to find out whether pharmacological activation of GABA(B) receptors played a role in cocaine sensitization. To this end, male Wistar rats were injected with baclofen or 3-aminopropyl(methyl)phosphinic acid (SKF 97541), the potent and selective GABA(B) receptor agonists. The rats, which were repeatedly (for 5 days) administered with cocaine (10 mg/kg) and then chal...

This study was designed to investigate whether cocaine can exacerbate viral myocarditis and increase its incidence. Recent clinical evidence suggests that cocaine abuse increases the incidence of myocarditis. However, it has not been directly demonstrated that cocaine exposure enhances murine myocarditis. BALB/c mice were divided into eight groups: saline control, encephalomyocarditis virus (EM...

Cocaine abuse is an important public health problem, with almost two million users in the United States alone. Cocaine abuse kills thousands annually. According to medical examiners, cocaine is the most frequent cause of drug-related deaths. As the use of cocaine remains pervasive so have cocaine-related medical problems. The most serious medical consequences of cocaine abuse are associated wit...

The biodisposition of cocaine and norcocaine in blood and tissues of immunological importance in B6C3F1 mice following exposure to cocaine or cocaine plus an organophosphate esterase inhibitor, diazinon, is presented. Analysis of specimens was by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results from these studies indicate that pretreatment with diazinon significantly increases cocaine and norcocai...

BACKGROUND Although the sympathomimetic actions and cardiovascular complications of cocaine are ascribed to inhibition of norepinephrine (NE) reuptake, this hypothesis has not been tested in humans. We asked (a) whether cocaine can inhibit NE reuptake in the human peripheral circulation and (b) whether the NE-mediated peripheral vasoconstriction is the main mechanism mediating blood pressure-ra...

Microdialysis was used to assess the contribution to cocaine seeking of cholinergic input to the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system in ventral tegmental area (VTA). VTA acetylcholine (ACh) was elevated in animals lever pressing for intravenous cocaine and in cocaine-experienced and cocaine-naive animals passively receiving similar "yoked" injections. In cocaine-trained animals, the elevations co...

BACKGROUND Cocaine dependence is associated with high rates of relapse. Stress and drug cue exposure are known to increase cocaine craving and stress arousal, but the association between these responses and cocaine relapse has not been previously studied. OBJECTIVE To examine whether stress-induced and drug cue-induced cocaine craving and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis responses evoked i...

Numerous data indicated a significance for the brain dopaminergic pathways in the behavioral effects of cocaine, however recent research also demonstrated involvement of serotonin (5-HT) neurotransmission and particularly 5-HT(1B) receptors in the reinforcing, discriminative stimulus and sensitizing effects of cocaine. In order to substantiate a role of these receptors in incentive motivation f...

To examine the effects of chronic perinatal cocaine exposure, cocaine was administered intravenously throughout pregnancy and the postpartum period to the rat. Pregnant rats were divided into five groups: nontreated (naive); normal saline control (saline); cocaine first generation (cocaine); saline in the first generation and cocaine in the second generation (Sal-2G); and cocaine in both first ...