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Laboratory and Animal InvestigationsAcute Activation of Circulating Polymorphonuclear Neutrophils Following In Vivo Administration of Cocaine: A Potential Etiology for Pulmonary Injury
Section snippets
Subjects
Twenty-four current crack-smoking subjects, including 17 men and 7 women, were recruited from a cohort of crack smokers participating in ongoing studies9,12 of the pulmonary effects of habitual use of cocaine, as well as from chemical dependency treatment programs in the local community. All subjects were between the ages of 21 and 50 years, and were regular smokers of alkaloidal cocaine, with only limited use of IV cocaine (≤12 times per lifetime). Exclusionary criteria, described in detail
Subject Characteristics
Demographic and smoking characteristics of the 24 study subjects are shown in Table 1. Subjects were in their fourth to fifth decade of life, and reported current smoking of at least 0.2 g (mean=1.3 g) of crack cocaine per week, with a duration of smoking of at least 3 years. Approximately two thirds of the subjects also currently smoked tobacco and/or marijuana.
Functional Analysis of Effector Cells
PMNs were assayed for their ability to kill S aureus before and after administration of cocaine or placebo. As shown in Figure 1, the
DISCUSSION
The mechanisms by which crack cocaine injures the lung are not well defined. However, the frequent autopsy findings of diffuse alveolar damage, interstitial pneumonitis, and pulmonary fibrosis in crack users suggest that both acute and chronic inflammatory reactions are involved.6, 7, 8 The present study was designed to assess the effects of short-term cocaine exposure on circulating inflammatory cells. Our findings suggest that short-term exposure to cocaine, either by inhalation or the IV
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors thank Michael Simmons for statistical analysis and figure preparation, and Wendy Aft for preparation of the manuscript.
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Impact of crack cocaine use on the occurrence of oral lesions and micronuclei
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Donors with a history of cocaine use and lung transplant outcomes
2012, Journal of Heart and Lung TransplantationCytomorphometric analysis of crack cocaine effects on the oral mucosa
2008, Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology and EndodontologyCitation Excerpt :Primarily, cocaine decreases the ability of macrophages to kill bacteria and tumor cells, likely by suppressing their capacity to generate effector molecules such as nitric oxide. The ultimate outcome of these effects may be an enhanced susceptibility to infectious disease, cancer, and AIDS.15 Generally, crack cocaine abusers also smoke both tobacco and marijuana.16
Reprint requests: Dr. Baldwin, Division of Hematology-Oncology, 11–934 Factor, Department of Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1678
Supported by NIH/NIDA grants DA08254 and NS33432 (Dr. Baldwin).