Add this to the list of reasons not to take cocaine: Chronic use of the drug may speed up the aging process. According to a new imaging study, cocaine abusers in their 30s and 40s show brain changes more commonly seen in people over 60. The finding also calls attention to the special medical needs of older drug users—a group that, until now, hasn't garnered much notice.
"Drug abuse is typically considered a young people's problem," says behavioral neuroscientist Karen Ersche at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. But baby boomers, many of whom began experimenting with drugs when they were young, are getting older. And according to Ersche's research, some of them may be getting older faster.
Studies show that middle-aged drug abusers often have problems more commonly seen in the elderly, such as memory loss, increased susceptibility to infection, and higher rates of cardiovascular disease. Rates of premature death among drug abusers are up to eight times higher than in the general population, according to some estimates.
People addicted to cocaine also perform poorly on tasks that involve an area of the brain called the prefrontal cortex, such as memory, attention, and reaction time. Because elderly people can have similar mental impairments, Ersche wondered if chronic exposure to cocaine accelerates these changes in the brain.
