Pubdate: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 Source: Reuters (Wire) Copyright: 2003 Reuters Limited Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) STUDY FINDS LONG-LASTING DRUG ABUSE IMPACT CHICAGO (Reuters) - Cocaine or amphetamine users suffer attention and motor skills problems for as long as a year after they've stopped using the drugs, a longer impact than earlier thought, a study said on Monday. The finding in the March issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry was based on a look at 50 pairs of male twins. In each pair, one was a former drug user and the other had not used drugs. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston said tests showed those who had abused the stimulants performed significantly worse than nonusers on tests measuring attention and motor skills. The drug users had been drug-free for one year when they were tested. "These findings provide evidence of long-term residual effects of stimulant abuse," the authors concluded. Rosemary Toomey, the chief author, said previous studies had mostly covered the time period from acute withdrawal to about six months and that the longer-lasting impact was a major finding of the new report. Previous research had documented effects associated with withdrawal from the drugs, including deficits in memory, problems with visualizing three-dimensional objects and concentration. An unusual finding in the study, Toomey said in an interview, was that the former drug users scored "significantly better" than their siblings on a test measuring "visual vigilance" -- in this case picking out an "X" in a series of slightly blurred letters flashed on a screen. While the reason for that is not clear, she said, stimulant drugs are known to improve attention disorders. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager