Did you know that …..
according to a recent study the use of cocaine ages the human brain ?
So says an investigation conducted by Karen Ersche entitled “Cocaine dependence: a fast-track for brain aging?“. This study has been published in the latest issue of the journal Molecular Psychiatry.
The researchers found that psychological and physiological changes, such as cognitive decline and brain atrophy, typicals of the aged are seen in middle-aged people addicted to cocaine.
Karen Ersche and colleagues worked with a sample of 120 cocaine users. They found that this group of people had lost more brain volume than the control group of non-users of cocaine.
The conclusion was that chronic exposure to cocaine accelerates the aging brain.
They also claim that cocaine users have a mortality rate eight times higher than healthy individuals.
(Edited by Dr. María Moya Guirao, MD)
