Mental Health
Coffee Could Treat Cocaine Addiction
Coffee could help prevent some side effects of using cocaine, according to a new study.
Previous studies explained that women are significantly more sensitive and susceptible to cocaine than men. Some experts believe that cocaine's ability to disrupt a woman's estrus cycle could explain the sex differences in cocaine addiction. However, new research reveals that caffeine could help ease cocaine's side effects in women.
The latest study "Cocaine Shifts the Estrus Cycle Out of Phase and Caffeine Restores It", revealed that caffeine blocks the estrus cycle and hormonal changes associated with cocaine use. Researchers explained that the findings suggest that caffeine is neuroprotective and can block brain changes associated with drug use. The latest findings could also lead to new addiction treatment as it provides evidence that antagonists of the adenosine system could help treat cocaine addiction.
"This is cutting-edge work that has never been shown before. It is critical knowledge relevant to women's reproductive health," Patricia A. Broderick, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Caffeine Research and Medical Professor in Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience, The Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, The City College of New York, The City University of New York, and Adjunct Professor in Neurology, New York University Langone Medical Center and Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, said in a news release.
The findings are published in the Journal of Caffeine Research: The International Multidisciplinary Journal of Caffeine Science.
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