Pubdate: Thu, 09 May 2002
Source: Star-Ledger (NJ)
Webpage: www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-1/102093540892485.xml
Copyright: 2002 Newark Morning Ledger Co
Contact:  http://www.nj.com/starledger/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/424
Author: Reuters

RESEARCHERS CALL REGULAR COCAINE USE A STEADILY GROWING INVITATION TO STROKE

WASHINGTON -- Frequent cocaine use slowly inflames blood vessels and causes 
clotting, increasing the risk of heart attack or stroke, researchers said 
yesterday.

A team of scientists at Harvard University said constant exposure to 
cocaine causes the body to boost production of blood-thickening factors 
ordinarily used after an injury to slow blood loss and start tissue growth.

Cocaine use can cause problems as subtle as a nosebleed, but the symptoms 
can progress to cardiac arrest and death. The study explained some of the 
mechanisms behind this, including a rise in levels of C-reactive proteins, 
which are linked to thickening in the arteries.

"Using cocaine once is like playing Russian roulette, but continued use 
compounds the risk, so it is like adding a second bullet to the chamber of 
the gun," Arthur Siegel, the doctor from Harvard's McLean Hospital who led 
the study, said in a statement. Siegel's report appears in the American 
Journal of Cardiology.

Siegel and his colleagues monitored the balance of blood-thickening and 
blood-thinning factors by watching two groups of people: 10 users who took 
cocaine between six and 20 times a week and 10 who took it between two and 
six times a month. All 20 users had similar levels of cholesterol.

The researchers found that levels of C-reactive protein and two other 
thickening components, von Willebrand Factor and fibrinogen, were higher in 
those who used the drug on a regular basis.

Previous studies had demonstrated that using cocaine causes inflammation 
briefly, but the new findings showed that gradual use has serious long-term 
impacts that increase over time.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth