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Chronic heroin and cocaine abuse is associated with decreased serum concentrations of the nerve growth factor and brain-derived neurotrophic factor

Institute of Neurology and Institute of Psychiatry, Catholic University, Rome, Italy, angeluccifrancesco{at}rm.unicatt.it, Fondazione Don C. Gnocchi, Rome, Italy, Karolinska Institutet, Clinical Neuroscience, Psychiatry M56, Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden

Valerio Ricci

Institute of Neurology and Institute of Psychiatry, Catholic University, Rome, Italy

Massimiliano Pomponi

Institute of Neurology and Institute of Psychiatry, Catholic University, Rome, Italy

Gianluigi Conte

Institute of Neurology and Institute of Psychiatry, Catholic University, Rome, Italy

Aleksander A. Mathé

Karolinska Institutet, Clinical Neuroscience, Psychiatry M56, Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden

Pietro Attilio Tonali

Institute of Neurology and Institute of Psychiatry, Catholic University, Rome, Italy, Fondazione Don C. Gnocchi, Rome, Italy

Pietro Bria

Institute of Neurology and Institute of Psychiatry, Catholic University, Rome, Italy

Chronic cocaine and heroin users display a variety of central nervous system (CNS) dysfunctions including impaired attention, learning, memory, reaction time, cognitive flexibility, impulse control and selective processing. These findings suggest that these drugs may alter normal brain functions and possibly cause neurotoxicity. Neurotrophins are a class of proteins that serve as survival factors for CNS neurons. In particular, nerve growth factor (NGF) plays an important role in the survival and function of cholinergic neurons while brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is involved in synaptic plasticity and in the maintenance of midbrain dopaminergic and cholinergic neurons. In the present study, we measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) the NGF and BDNF levels in serum of three groups of subjects: heroin-dependent patients, cocaine-dependent patients and healthy volunteers. Our goal was to identify possible change in serum neurotrophins in heroin and cocaine users. BDNF was decreased in heroin users whereas NGF was decreased in both heroin and cocaine users. These findings indicate that NGF and BDNF may play a role in the neurotoxicity and addiction induced by these drugs. In view of the neurotrophin hypothesis of schizophrenia the data also suggest that reduced level of neurotrophins may increase the risk of developing psychosis in drug users.

Key Words: heroin • cocaine • NGF • BDNF • human

This version was published on November 1, 2007

Journal of Psychopharmacology, Vol. 21, No. 8, 820-825 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0269881107078491


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