Published on February 14 in the revue Frontiers in Psychiatry, a new study demonstrates that the cocaine has an effect on accelerated brain aging. This drug causes dopamine flood when taking it, which makes it particularly addictive. Consumed regularly, it can cause alterations, cerebral, functional and molecular disorders at this level. This study observed the effects of this substance on human samples, and not on rodents like most studies so far. Performed on brain samples, post-mortems, 42 specifically, 21 of which belonged to regular consumers, scientific experience has shown certain effects. Scientists have found that on a specific area of the brain, “Brodmann 9”, impacted directly by the consumption of cocaine, this substance had an effect on the memory, planning, control or self-awareness. In addition to these effects, the researchers found that the degree of DNA methylationone of the molecular characteristics of agingwas plusimportant among cocaine users than among non-users. (source 1)
This DNA methylation is a genetic phenomenon which occurs in the body and consists of the addition or deletion of a molecule, called methyl, on certain areas of our DNA. This change can alter the expression of a gene, more or less strongly. This modification naturally increases with time, but here it is the cocaine that speeds it up and maybe the trigger for age-related diseasesas the cholesterol where the cardiovascular diseases (source 2).