Hello! Quick update on a new research paper on treatment response in cocaine addiction from researchers at Columbia University. The study used a PET scan to look at D2 dopamine receptors in the brains of cocaine users. In particular, they looked at how much dopamine was released in the cocaine users' brains after a dose of methylphenidate (Ritalin) which is a medication that blocks the re-uptake of dopamine in the brain similar to the way cocaine works. Cocaine users had lower levels of dopamine activity relative to controls who did not use cocaine. And among the cocaine users, there was a group that had very little release of dopamine in response to the dose of methylphenidate suggesting that their dopamine system was very unresponsive. They then followed the cocaine users to see if they could quit cocaine with a standard behavioral treatment, contingency management. The cocaine users who had a normal response in the dopamine system after the methylphenidate dose did well in treatment while those cocaine users whose dopamine system was unresponsive were unable to quit cocaine.
The results suggest that we are beginning to be able to identify biological differences among cocaine users that can be used to predict success in treatment. Those cocaine users with normal dopamine system should receive standard behavioral treatment as they do fairly well. But those with unresponsive dopamine systems need additional treatment, likely a medication to counteract their sleeping dopamine system and restore their responsiveness to non-drug rewards. These results could be used to personalize treatment for cocaine addiction in the future if we could come up with an easier way to assess the dopamine system as doing PET scans (expensive) on all cocaine users before treatment isn't realistic currently!
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Tags:
cocaine,
dopamine,
methylphenidate,
PET scan,
ritalin,
treatment response
UCLA SARX is a group of world-class clinical researchers and providers in Los Angeles that specialize in clinical trials for meth addiction treatment and research along with office-based treatment for addiction to opioids, stimulants, tobacco, alcohol and marijuana. We are proudly a part of the UCLA Center for Behavioral & Addiction Medicine.
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