Chronic cocaine use accelerates brain aging, according to a study from the Institute of Clinical Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry . Specifically, magnetic resonance images reveal that the loss of brain gray matter is greater in people dependent on this drug than in the rest of the population.
As we age, the brain shrinks in size . According to the study authors, in healthy people the reduction in brain volume is 1.69 milliliters per year. However, in those who have used cocaine as adults, the figure rises to 3.08 milliliters per year. This acceleration in the loss of brain mass linked to aging occurs mainly in the prefrontal cortex and in the temporal cortex, areas related to attention, decision-making, self-control and memory .
According to recent United Nations estimates, the number of cocaine users in the world amounts to 21 million people, of which at least 1% are drug addicts. ? Young people – and adults – who use cocaine should be informed of the risks of premature aging in the long term ,? concludes Karen Ersche, co-author of the study.
