Cocaine used to be the drug of the rich and famous, but over recent years it has become cheaper and more readily available, and as a result more and more people are becoming addicted to this highly dangerous substance. A report last year from the UK Government Advisory Council found that 1 in 10 people between the ages of 16 and 59 had used the drug at some point. The current treatment for cocaine addicts is through therapy, but relapse rates remain high. Now a new study has linked cocaine addiction with a build up of iron in certain parts of the brain, and particularly areas known to control our inhibitions, although the team don’t yet know what the iron is doing there. I spoke with lead author Dr Karen Ersche…

• Cocaine addiction leads to disruptions in the regulation of iron, with reduced levels in the blood and higher levels in the brain
• Iron build-up in the brain is highly toxic and can be seen in other degenerative diseases such as dementia and Parkinson’s
• Participants in the study had a brain scan which identified iron build-up in the area of the brain that controls inhibition
• Possible explanations are that cocaine users have an appetite for fatty foods which hampers the absorption of iron, or that the cocaine weakens or destroys the blood-brain barrier causing iron to leak into the brain
• The study also found a relationship between the amount of iron accumulation and the duration of cocaine use, but further work is needed to clarify its effect on brain cells
• Understanding the relationship between cocaine addiction and iron regulation in the body could provide a new avenue for treatment in the future

You can listen to the full interview for the Naked Scientists here.